THE  INFLUENCE  OF 
PLAUTUS  ON  THE 
COMEDIES  OF  BEN 
JONSON 


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THE  INFLUENCE  OF  PLAUTUS 

ON  THE 

COMEDIES  OF  BEN  JONSON 

A  THESIS 

FOR   THE 

DOCTORATE  IN   PHILOSOPHY 


BY 

ELEANOR  P.  LUMLEY 


Approved  by  the  Faculty  of  the  Graduate  School  of  the  New 
York  University,   1900 


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1901 


Copyright,  igor 

BY 

ELEANOR  P.  LUMLEY 


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PREFATORY  NOTE. 

THE  abbreviations  selected  for  the  titles  of  the 
Plautine  comedies  are  those  adopted  by  Ritschl, 
Studemund  and  Goetz.  The  edition  of  Plautus  from 
which  extracts  are  taken,  and  to  which  reference  is 
made,  including  the  Testimonies  Veterum  prefixed  to 
the  edition,  is  that  from  the  recension  by  George  Goetz 
p_  and  Friderick  Schoell,  1898. 

en     The  value  of  this  dissertation  will  be  that  it  is  the 

uo  first  systematic  attempt  in  this  direction  —  not  that  it 

^  exhausts  the  subject,  nor  that  the  category  of  refer- 

\  ences    is    complete.       As    Jonson    followed     Plautus 

'  freely,  much  of  the  influence  is  general  or  indirect,  and 

can  be  indicated  only  by   reference    and  inference. 

x  Striking  resemblances  —  where  the  words  correspond, 

^  or  where  the  spirit  or  idea  is  similar  —  are  regarded  as 

£  direct  influence,  and  have  been  cited  at  length. 

*±      The  use  of  the  Library  at  Harvard  University,  and 

of  the  Library  at  Columbia   University,  was  kindly 

granted  me.      Among  the  authorities  consulted,  are 

'<!  the  commentaries  on  the  Plautine  plays,  Mr.  von  Rein- 

hardstoettner's  work  on  Plautus,  the  publications  on 

Ben  Jonson  by  Mr.   Algernon  Swinburne,   Professor 

Felix  E.  Schelling  and  Mr.  J.  A.  Symonds  ;  and  vari- 

t  ous  histories  of  Roman  Literature,  chiefly  that  by  Wil- 

helm  Sigmund  Teuffel. 

I  wish  to  acknowledge  my  indebtedness  to  my  in- 
structors, Dr.  Francis  H.  Stoddard,  of  the  New  York 
University  ;  Dr.  Alfred  Gudeman  and  Professor  Felix 

iii 


IV 


Prefatory  Note. 


E.  Schelling,  Ph.D.,  of  the  University  of  Pennsylvania; 
and  especially  to  Dr.  Ernest  G.  Sihler,  of  the  New 
York  University,  who  has  read  the  work  in  proof- 
sheets  and  given  me  the  advantage  of  his  scholarly 
criticisms. 

E.  P.  I,. 
New  York  City,  June,  1900. 


ABBREVIATIONS   OF   THE  TITLES  OF  THE 
PLAUTINE   COMEDIES. 


Am.: 

Amphitruo, 

Mn.: 

Menaechmi, 

As.: 

Asinaria, 

Mi.: 

Miles  Gloriosus, 

Au.: 

Aulularia, 

Mr.: 

Mercator, 

Cp.: 

Captivi, 

Ps.: 

Pseudolus, 

Cu.: 

Curculio, 

Po.: 

Poenulus, 

Cs.: 

Casina, 

Pe.: 

Persa, 

Ci.: 

Cistellaria, 

R.: 

Rudens, 

E.: 

Epidicus, 

S.: 

Stichus, 

B.: 

Bacchides, 

Ti.: 

Trinummus, 

Mo.: 

Mostellaria, 

Tu.: 

Truculentus, 

V.: 

Vidularia. 

CONTENTS 

PAGE 

Introduction. 

Aspirants  for  fame  show  adherence  to  the  old  masters. 
— The  genius  of  Plautus  has  left  its  impress  upon  the 
literature  of  the  nations. — The  researches  of  Mr.  von 
Reinhardstoettner  show  extensive  influence  in  France, 
Germany,  England,  and  the  lesser  principalities. — 
There  is  a  reason  to  be  assigned  for  this  influence.      .     1-2 

A.  Influence. — Indirect. 

I.  That  the  Plautine  comedies  were  highly  esteemed  and 
popular. —  Testimony  of  ancient  writers  as  to  their 
value,  popularity,  and  duration  on  the  stage.— P. 
Terentius. — Aelius  Stilo. — Volcacius  Sedigitus. — M. 
Terentius  Varro.  —  M.  Tullius  Cicero.  —  Q.  Horatius 
Flaccus.  —  Quintilian.  —  Aulus  Gellius.  —  The  testi- 
mony of  the  Christian  writers,  Eusebius,  Rufinus, 
Hieronymus,  Macrobius. — Testimony  of  the  modern 
writers  of  ancient  history,  Mommsen,  Teuffel- 
Schwabe. — Plautus  unknown  during  the  Middle  Ages. 
—  The  position  held  by  the  Plautine  comedies  at  the 
end  of  the  fourteenth  century  compared  with  their 
position  at  the  close  of  the  sixteenth  century,  when 
they  formed  the  main  source  of  all  dramatic  produc- 
tions of  a  comic  character. — Testimony  of  Meres,  the 
Lady  Mary  Wortley  Montague  and  others. — This  great 
fame  but  slightly  reflected  in  our  day.  .         .         .  3-12 

II.  That  the  literary  style  of  Plautus  was  such  as  would 
appeal  directly  to  the  people. —  The  character  of  the 
comedies. —  Plautus  a  writer  of  Comedy  of  Manners. 
— Plots  reproductions  from  the  Greek  New  Comedy 
writers. — The  portions  traceable  to  the  translator,  indi- 
cate the  true  reason  for  his  popularity,  and  for  tbe 
theatre  repeatedly  reverting  to  his  plays. — His  origin- 


vi  Contents. 

PAGE 

ality  consisted  in  his  power  of  transmuting,  not  of 
verbally  translating. — Introduction  of  new  force,  fresh- 
ness, soundness. — A  master  in  art  and  form,  notwith- 
standing foreign  sources. — His  influence  the  same, 
whether  he  is  allowed  the  merit  of  originality  or  not. 
— Originality  merely  a  question  of  individual  merit. — 
Special  characteristics. — Masterly  use  of  language. — 
Skill  in  dramatic  effect. —  Clever  dialogue. —  Fresh 
humor. —  Comic  effect. — The  people  for  whom  he 
wrote. — The  plays  indicate  intercourse  with  the  com- 
mon people. — An  outgrowth  of  the  times  in  which  the 
author  lived. — Plautus  exclusively  a  comic  and  a  popu- 
lar poet.  —  Characters  drawn  to  nature's  model. — 
Strong  point  in  the  sermo,  not  in  the  plot. — The  mu- 
tual relation  of  parts  of  the  greatest  importance. — His 
art  indicated  in  his  witty  and  vivacious  answers. — He 
has  served  as  a  model  in  this  respect  for  all  future 
generations. — The  delicate  little  earmarks,  words,  puns 
and  jests,  are  peculiarities  which  betray  the  hand  of 
Plautus. — Inexhaustible  in  the  resources  of  his  vocab- 
ulary.— Archaic  forms  give  an  antique  flavor,  like 
those  used  by  Shakespeare  and  Ben  Jonson.         .         13-28 

III.  That  these  comedies,  by  continued  presentation 
on  the  stage,  had  grown  to  be  familiar  to  the  public. 
— Mr.  von  Reinhardstoettner's  method  a  pleasant 
way  of  realizing  the  merits  of  Plautus,  and  of  estimat- 
ing his  influence  in  general  on  posterity. — At  the 
period  of  the  revival  of  letters,  eight  of  the  Plautine 
comedies  known. — First  announcement  of  the  ex- 
istence of  a  MS.  containing  the  twenty,  made  in  1429, 
by  Poggio  Bracciolini. — The  editio  princeps,  1472,  of 
Merulae. — Method  of  transcribing. — The  edition  of 
Camerarius,  1552.  — Separate  editions  previous  to  the 
date  of  Ben  Jonson's  last  comedy,  1633,  of  which 
copies  exist  in  the  British  Museum  Library.  —  The 
English  translation  of  the  Andria  of  Terence,  pr. 
1530,  and  1588. — The  Menaechmi  translated  and  pre- 
sented in  Italy,  in  1508,  earlier  than  any  other  play. 
— Its  probable  presentation  in  England  at  an  early 


Contents.  vii 

PAGE 

date. — The  development,  in  England,  of  a  taste  for 
classical  literature,  and  its  effects  upon  the  national 
drama.  —  Plautine  comedies  presented  before  Henry 
VIII.  at  Greenwich  in  1528. — The  Aulularia  before 
Queen  Elizabeth  at  Cambridge,  1564.  —  Plautus  a 
favorite  in  the  Cloisters,  where  his  comedies  were 
frequently  presented  from  a  very  early  date.  — 
Nicholas  Udall,  the  schoolmaster,  1556,  wrote  plays 
after  the  manner  of  Plautus  and  Terence  for  his  boys 
to  perform. — The  times  of  Elizabeth  and  James  par- 
ticularly fertile  in  the  production  and  presentation  of 
Latin  dramas. — English  drama  sprang  from  the  mo- 
ralities, through  the  interludes,  aided  primarily  by 
the  examples  of  Plautus  and  Terence,  and  second- 
arily by  the  Italian  comic  dramatists.  —  Mediaeval 
scholars  converted  the  Plautine  dramas  to  represent 
Biblical  incidents.  —  Burmeister's  Nativity,  founded 
on  the  Amphitruo.  —  MS.  copies  of  imitations  of 
Plautine  comedies  in  British  Museum  Library,  before 
Jonson's  time,  1485,  1551.  —  English  imitations. —  G. 
Gascoigne,  the  Supposes,  1566.  —  N.  Udall,  Ralph 
Royster  Doyster. — J.  Lilly,  Sir  Tophas  in  Endimion. 
— Hey  wood,  The  Silver  Age ;  The  English  Trav- 
eller.— Massinger,  A  Very  Woman. — Passages  of  the 
old  play  of  Albumazar. — A.  Munday,  John  a  Kent 
and  John  a  Cumber,  1595. — Addison,  Gespenst  mitder 
Trommel. — Dryden,  Sir  Martin  Mar-all. — Murphy, 
The  Citizen. — G.  Chapman,  May  Day. — Beaumont  and 
Fletcher,  A  King  and  No  King  ;  The  Custom  oj  the 
Country. — Congreve,  The  Old  Bachelor. — Middleton, 
No  Wit  Like  a  Woman's.— Shakespeare,  John  Falstaff, 
Comedy  of  Errors,  The  Twelfth  Night,  etc. — Shad- 
well,  The  Miser.— H.  Fielding,  The  Miser,  1672.— Au- 
thors possessing  native  genius  borrowed  plots,  scenes 
and  sentiments  from  the  Plautine  comedies. — The 
Menaechmi,  directly  or  indirectly  copied  by  Rotrou, 
Picard  and  Schiller. — By  Shakespeare  in  the  Comedy 
of  Errors. — Imitation  found  in  the  Taming  of  the 
Shrew,  The  Twelfth  Night,  The  Tempest,  Pericles. — 


viii  Contents. 

PAGE 

The  Rudens  furnishes  material  for  Battista  Porta's 
La  Trappolaria ;  for  Moliere's  UEtourdi  ;  Reg- 
nard's  La  Serenade  and  the  play  by  Diderieh  Men- 
schenschreck. — Shylock  and  Euclio.  —  Evidence  of 
Shakespeare's  knowledge  of  the  Plautine  comedies 
in  the  original  or  in  the  translated  forms. — Supposi- 
tion that  W.  W.  had  translated  all  the  plays  by  1595. 
— His  publication  of  the  Menaechmi. — Extent  of  the 
influence  of  Plautus  on  Shakespeare  limited. — The 
L'  Etourdi  and  L'  Avare  of  Moliere. — The  relative 
merit  of  these  plays  compared  with  their  originals  .     29-49 

B.  Influence.— Direct. 
IV.  Illustrated  in  three  ways :  in  general  idea,  mere 
outline ;  in  particular  ideas,  words,  phrases,  etc.; 
in  direct  translation. —  Similarity  in  plot,  charac- 
ter, scene,  episode,  spirit  or  idea  where  words 
are  different.  —  Stock  characters  in  each.  —  Plots 
slight. —  Method  in  working  out  of  plot  similar. 
— Made  sport  of  their  dupes.  — Jonson's  idea  of  the 
principles  of  the  English  drama. — Theories  those  of 
a  classicist.  —  His  idea  of  the  comic  in  art  and  of 
dramatic  art.  —  Believed  the  English  drama  should 
follow  the  example  of  the  uetus  comoedie. — Character 
of  his  genius  that  of  a  caricaturist. — His  dependence 
on  the  classic  idea  and  interpretation  of  it  in  a  literal 
sense. — His  aim  and  observance  of  the  Aristotelian 
rules. — The  Comedy  of  Manners,  which  he  derived 
from  the  ancients,  brought  fixed  types  of  character 
on  the  stage. — Analyzed  fixed  types. — In  this  respect 
he  diverged  most  radically  from  the  spirit  of  the 
Shakespearian  drama. — His  greatest  creations  dupes 
and  cheats. — His  wit  admirable,  but  not  delightful. — 
People  for  whom  he  wrote. — It  is  to  be  regretted  that 
the  influence  on  the  style  and  method  of  Jonson  was 
not  more  permanent. 

1.  Every  Man  in  His  Humour  and  the  Miles  Glo- 
riosus.  The  Magnetic  Lady.  Bobadill  an  imitation 
of  the  Miles. — The  best  known,  after  Falstaff,  of  the 


Contents.  ix 


PAGS 


characters  modelled  after  the  bragging  officer.  — 
Pyrgopolinices.  — Thraso.  —  Therapoutigonus.  —  Gif- 
ford's  comment.  —  Selected  passages  showing  influ- 
ence.—  Captain  Tucca,  after  Bobadill,  the  "brightest 
and  best"  of  Jonson's  imitations  of  this  character. 

2.  The  Alchemist  and  the  Mostellaria.  —  Selected 
passages  showing  influence. — Sir  Epicure  Mammon 
and  Gripus,  a  character  of  the  Rudens. 

3.  The  Case  is  Altered,  the  Captivi,  and  the  Anlu- 
laria.  —  Selected  passages  showing  similarity  and 
direct  influence. 

4.  The  Silent  Woman,  the  Casina,  the  Asinaria. — 
Illustration  of  similarity  in  episode. 

,5. —  Volpone,  The  Fox. — Mosca. —  The  Devil  is  an  Ass. 
— Fitzdottrel. — Influence  undeniable  where  idea  is 
similar,  where  passages  correspond  in  verbal  phras- 
ing.— Was  this  influence  conscious,  or  unconscious  ? 
— External  evidence. — Testimony  of  contemporane- 
ous writers. — Meres.  —  Drummond.  —  Internal  evi- 
dence.— Extent  of  influence  a  matter  of  individual 
opinion.  — Jonson  not  a  literal  translator. — Skill  in 
treatment  of  material. — No  idea  of  concealing  his 
sources.  —  Intended  to  have  written  a  play  in  imita- 
tion of  the  Amphitruo. — Reason  he  did  not  do  so  .  50-118 
Conclusion. — Humor  the  soul  of  comedy. — Humor  de- 
pendent upon  the  day  and  manners  of  the  time. — 
Jonson  a  better  antiquarian  than  a  dramatist.  —  A 
power  in  literature. — An  honored  author  in  his  day. 
— Eulogies  published  after  his  death.  —  Devotion  to 
his  ideas  of  art,  exclusive.  —  Endeavored  to  reform 
the  stage. — The  new  style  not  immediately  successful. 
— Recognition  by  stage  patrons. — A  leader  of  jovial 
society  in  London. — The  greatest  constructor  of  plots 
in  our  literature.  —  Position  of  Jonson  and  Plautus 
similar  to-day. — A  comic  satirist  who  suffered  the  fate 
of  a  successful  reformer 118-121 


BIBLIOGRAPHY 

OF  THE  CHIEF  WORKS  CONSULTED  IN  THIS  DISCUSSION. 

Catalogue. — British  Museum. 

Claus,  W. — Plautus'  Mostellaria  and  the  Imitations  of  It. 

Collier,  J.  P. — History  of  English  Dramatic  Poetry  and  Annals 
of  the  Stage.     Vol.  I.     1831. 

Cruttwell,  C.  T.  (M. A.)— History  of  Roman  Literature.     1886. 

Gifford  Wm. — Memoirs  of  Ben  Jonson.     1816. 

Goetz,  Geo.  and  Schoell,  F. — Titi  Macci  Plauti  Comoediae. 

1898. 
Jonson,  Ben. — Works  of,  ed.  by  Cornwall,  Barry.   1838. 

Lessing,  G.  E. — Von  dem  Leben  und  den  Werken  des  Plautus. 

Collected  Works,  Vol.  IV.     1889. 
Modern  Lang.  Ass.  of  America. — Publications  of,  1887,  1895, 

1896. 

Mommsen,  Theodore. —  History  of  Rome.  Tr.  by  Dickson, 
Wm.     Ed.  1894. 

Ramsay,  Wm. — Plautus,  Mostellaria.    Prolegomena.     1869. 

Reinhardstoettner,  Karl  von. — Plautus.  Spatere  Bearbeitungen 
Plautinischer  Lustspiele.     1886.     Leipzig. 

Schelling,  Felix  E. — Ben  Jonson  and  the  Classical  School,  and 
Jonson's  Timber  or  Discoveries  made  upon  Men  and 
Matter. 

Symonds,  J.  A. — Shakespeare's  Predecessors.  English  Wor- 
thies.    Ben  Jonson.     Ed.  of  1888. 

Swinburne,  Algernon  Charles. — A  Study  of  Ben  Jonson.     1889. 

Testimonia  Veterum. — Goetz-Schoell's  ed.  of  Plauti  Comoediae. 

Teuffel-Schwabe. — History  of  Roman  Literature.  Tr.  by  Geo. 
C.  W.  Warr.     1891-2. 

Warton,  Tho. — History  of  English  Poetry.     1871. 


XI 


THE   INFLUENCE   OF   PLAUTUS   ON 
THE  COMEDIES  OF  BEN  JONSON. 


o 


INTRODUCTION. 

NOT  alone  in  painting  and  sculpture,  but  in  literary- 
art  as  well,  aspirants  for  fame  in  succeeding 
generations  show  more  or  less  dependence  upon  the  old 
masters.  When  we  compare  closely  the  products  of 
literature  in  the  evolutionary  stages,  we  not  infre- 
quently find  that  the  later  or  modern  stands  in  relation 
to  the  earlier  or  ancient  as  a  child  to  a  parent  ;  that 
the  features  of  the  one  may  be  traced  in  the  lineaments 
of  the  other.  Not  only  is  this  true  with  regard  to 
points  of  special  similarity,  but  we  find  that  the  general 
style  of  the  later  writer  has  frequently  been  acquired, 
perhaps  unconsciously,  from  a  close  study  of  the  char- 
acteristics of  an  older  model. 

Perhaps,  with  all  his  shortcomings,  no  ancient  writer 
has  thus  served  as  a  model  so  generally,  or  has  had 
so  many  successful  imitators  among  poets  as  Plautus.1 
His  genius,  centuries  after  his  language  had  become 
obsolete,  left  its  impress  upon  the  literature  of  the 
nations.3  The  researches  3  of  Mr.  Karl  von  Reinhard- 
stoettner  show  that  this  influence  has  been  felt  in 
France,  Germany,  England.      Also  Italy,  Spain,  Por- 

1  Reinhardstoettner,  Karl  von,  Plautus,  spatere  Bearbeitung 
plautinischer.  Lustspiele,  Beitr.  z.  Vgl.  Lit.-Gesch.,  Lpz.  1886. 
etc.  2  Ibid.  3  Ibid. 


2        Influence  of  Plautus  on  Ben  Jonson. 

tugal,  Holland,  Denmark,  Hungary,  Sweden,  furnish 
authors  who  have  written  plays  founded  in  a  greater 
or  less  degree  on  the  comedies  of  Plautus. '  In  France, 
among  others  Rotrou,  Moliere,  Regnard  and  Picard  ; 
in  England,  Shakespeare,  Ben  Jonson,  Dryden,  Field- 
ing, Addison  and  others  of  less  celebrity  availed  them- 
selves of  plots,  scenes  and  hints  suggested  by  the  old 
Latin  dramatist. 

There  must  be  some  reason  for  this  general  imitation 
of  the  Plautine  comedies,  some  merit  in  the  plays  them- 
selves. That  a  writer  of  Ben  Jonson' s  acknowledged 
classical  tastes  and  tendencies 2  should  turn  to  the 
greatest  comedian  the  ancient  Roman  world  could  pro- 
duce for  assistance,3  is  not  strange  ;  but  it  is  remark- 
able that  he  should  have  made  direct  adaptation  of 
portions  of  the  Plautine  comedies  in  various  instances, 
and  that  other  authors  also,  as  Shakespeare  and  Field- 
ing, who  were  not  classicists  naturally,  should  turn  to 
Plautus  for  ideas.  This  can  be  accounted  for  by  estab- 
lishing three  facts,  i.  e.:  i ,  that  the  Plautine  comedies 
were  highly  esteemed  and  popular  ;  2,  that  the  literary 
style  of  Plautus  was  such  as  to  appeal  directly  to  the 
people  ;  3,  that  these  comedies  by  continued  presenta- 
tion on  the  stage  had  grown  to  be  familiar  to  the  pub- 
lic. As  such  proof  is  material  and  precedent  to  any 
statement  of  direct  influence  which  Plautus  may  have 
had  on  Ben  Jonson' s  comedies,  it  will  be  advantageous 
to  consider  these  questions. 

1  Ibid. 

2Schelling,  Felix  E.,  Ben  Jonson  and  the  Classical  School, 
and  Ibid.,  Jonson's  Timber  or  Discoveries  Made  upon  Men  and 
Matter. 

3  Swinburne,  Algernon  Charles,  A  Study  of  Ben  Jonson,  1889. 
Cf.  Sytnonds,  J.  A.,  Shakespeare's  Predecessors.  English 
Worthies,  Ben  Jonson,  1888. 


I. 


THAT  THE   PEAUTINE   COMEDIES  WERE  HIGHLY 
ESTEEMED  AND   POPULAR. 

FROM  the  date  of  his  first  comedy  until  his  death, 
in  184  B.C.,1  Plautus  produced  plays,  and  con- 
tinued the  undisputed  favorite  of  the  public ; 2  and  after 
his  death,  these  comedies  did  not  cease  to  excite  the 
admiration  of  educated  Romans. 

"  After  the  death  of  Terence,"  (in  159  B.C.,)  says 
Mommsen,  "  new  pieces  were  no  longer  performed. 
That  the  public  (still  in  the  Sullan  Age)  expected  to 
see  such  appears  from  the  reproductions — belonging  to 
this  epoch  —  of  Plautine  comedies  with  the  titles  and 
names  of  the  persons  altered,  with  reference  to  which 
the  managers  well  added  that  it  was  better  to  see  a 
good  old  piece  than  a  bad  new  o?ie.  From  this  the  step 
was  not  great  to  that  entire  surrender  of  the  stage  to 
the  dead  poets,  which  we  find  in  the  Ciceronian  Age. ' '  3 

There  is  evidence  that  Plautus  held  a  high  place  in 
the  estimation  of  the  ancient  Romans,4  from  the  refer- 
ences to  him  extending  from  Terence,5  Varro  6  and 

1  Cicero,  Brut.,  XV,  60.  Goetz  and  Schoell,  Plautus,  1898. 
Testimonia  Veterum,  XXX. 

2  Teuffel-Schwabe,  Hist,  of  Rom.  Lit.  Tr.  by  Warr,  Geo.  C. 
W.  (M.A.),  1891-2,  I,  p.  145. 

3  Mommsen,  Hist,  of  Rome,  Vol.  IV,  p.  688,  ed.  1894. 

4  Horace,  Art.  Poet.,  2635^.  Testimonia  Veterum,  L,XV. 

5 Terence,   Eunuchus,  Prol.  v.  25.     Adelphoi,  Prol.  v.  6  sq. 
Testimonia  Veterum,  XXXVI,  XXXVII. 
6  Varro,  Apud  Cbarisium,  II,  p.  241,  27  Keil. 

3 


4  The  Influence  of  Plautus 

Cicero,1  down  to  the  Christian  writers  ; 2  and  from  the 
fact  that  his  plays  held  their  place  so  long  upon  the 
stage.3  Sedigitus,  in  A.  Gellius,4  has  given  to  Cae- 
cilins  Statius  the  first,  to  Plautus  the  second,  and  to 
Terence  the  sixth  place  among  the  Roman  comic  poets. 
The  pun,  at  1.  769  sq.  Mostellaria,  referring  to  his 
birthplace  would  seem  to  indicate  that,  at  the  time  the 
Mostellaria  was  written,  Plautus  was  already  a  well- 
known  writer. 

Varro,  a  very  subtle  judge  of  writers  and  poets,5 
praises  him  for  his  dialogue  :  In  argumentis  Caecilius 
poscit  palmam,  in  ethesin  Terentius,  in  sermonibus 
Plautus.6  Moreover,  Varro  bears  witness  that  Plautus, 
in  the  elegance  and  virtue  of  his  discourse,  was  espe- 
cially distinguished,  and  in  Quintilian  7  we  read  that 
Varro,  following  the  opinion  of  his  teacher,  Aelius 
Stilo,  the  grammarian,  said  :  Si  latine  loqui  uellent, 
Musas  Plautino  sermone  locuturasfuisse. 

The  purity  of  his  L,atin  diction,  his  lively  and  spark- 
ling wit  and  the  comic  style  of  his  dialogue  were  par- 
ticularly celebrated  by  these  early  writers.  The  public 
admired  Plautus  heartily,  entered  fully  into  his  humor 

1  Cicero,  De  Or.,  Ill,  12,  44  sq.  Ex  persona  Crassi.  Testi- 
monia  Veterum,  UK. 

2  Rufinus,  In  Hieronymum,  II,  8,  10  t.  II,  p.  639  sqq.  Vail. 
Testimonia  Veterum,  LXXXI. 

3  Mommsen,  Hist  of  Rome,  ed.  1894. 

4Volcacius  Sedigitus,  Apud  Gellium,  N.  A.,  XV,  24.  Testi- 
monia Veterum,  LV. 

5Cic.  Brut.,  XV,  60.  Testimonia  Veterum,  XXX.  Cf. 
Wolff,  Godofr.  Aug.  B.,  Prolegomena  ad  Plauti  Aululariam, 
1836. 

6  Varro,  Apud  Nonium,-  p.  374,  5  M.     Testimonia  Veterum, 

i/vr. 

1  Quintilianus,  Inst.  Or.,  X,  1,  99.  Testimonia  Veterum, 
LXVIII. 


On  the  Comedies  of  Ben  Jonson.  5 

and  burst  into  laughter  at  the  smart  retorts  and  neat 
quibbles  of  his  characters.  Nor  was  this  an  ephemeral 
reputation,  for  whole  generations  have  given  him  their 
applause.  Aulus  Gellius  calls  Plautus,  tierborum 
Latinorum  elegantissimus1 ;  praises  him  in  the  highest 
terms  and  speaks  of  him  as,  homo  linguae  atque  ele- 
gantiae  in  uerbis  Latinae  princeps"1 ;  and  again  as, 
linguae  Latinae  decus*  This  same  writer  has  given  an 
account  of  an  epitaph4  which  Plautus  composed  for  his 
own  tomb,  which  expresses  a  bold  consciousness  of  his 
powers,  although  it  renders  him  liable  to  the  imputa- 
tion of  vanity. 

"  In  the  time  of  Cicero,"  says  Mommsen,  "  the 
tragedies  of  Ennius,  Pacuvius  and  Accius,  and  the 
comedies  of  Plautus,  were  those  chiefly  produced. 
The  latter  in  the  previous  period  had  been  supplanted 
by  the  more  tasteful  but  in  point  of  comic  vigor  far  in- 
ferior Terence,  and  dramatic  art  and  antiquarian 
scholarship,  represented  by  Varro,6  co-operated  to 
procure  for  him  a  resurrection  similar  to  that  which 
Shakespeare  experienced  at  the  hands  of  Garrick  and 
Johnson."  6  Cicero  is  extravagant  in  his  praise  of 
Plautus,7  for  he  couples  his  name  with  the  writers  of 
Attic  comedy,  and  declares  their  wit  elegans,  urbanum, 
ingeniosum,  facetum  :  quo  genere  non  vwdo  Plautus 
noster  et  Atticorum  antiqua  comoedia,  sed  etiam  philoso- 

1  Gellius,  N.  A.,  I,  7,  17.     Testimonia  Veterum,  LXXII. 

2  Ibid.,  VI  (VII),  17,  4.     Testimonia  Veterum,  LXXI. 

3  Ibid.,  XIX,  8,  6.     Testimonia  Veterum,  LXXIII. 

4  Ibid.,  I,  24,  1,  3.     Testimonia  Veterum,  LIII. 

3  Teuffel-Schwabe,  Hist,  of  Rom.  Lit.  Tr.  by  Geo.  C.  W. 
Warr,  1891,  I,  p.  145. 

6  Mommsen,  Hist,  of  Rome,  Vol.  IV,  p.  693.     Ed.  1894. 

7 Teuffel-Schwabe,  Hist,  of  Rom.  Lit.  Tr.  by  G.  C.  W. 
Warr,  1891,  I,  p.  142.     Cf.  Tr.  by  Wm.  Wagner,  p.  123. 


6  The  Influence  of  Plautus 

phorum  Socraticorum  libri  referti  sunt  multaque  mul- 
torum  facete  dicta,  ut  ea  quae  a  sene  Catone  conlecta  stent, 
quae  uocant  ano<f)Bkyp.ara.x  And  in  many  instances 
he  shows  that  he  was  greatly  delighted  with  the  ancient 
poet.  In  one  place  he  informs  us  that  Plautus  himself 
thought  very  highly  of  his  Pseudolus  and  Truculentus, 
and  that  they  were  the  product  of  his  old  age  :  quam 
gaudebat  bello  suo  Punico  Naeitius,  quam  Truculento 
Plautus,  quam  Pseudolo? 

In  the  Augustan  period,3  the  admirers  of  the  archaic 
poets  praised  Plautus  for  his  vivacity  and  rapidity,4  for 
which  they  compared  him  to  Kpicharmus  :  Plautus  ad 
exemplar  Siculi  properare  Epicharmi*  However,  even 
in  the  time  of  Augustus,  as  Greek  learning  began  to 
be  more  sought  after,  Plautus  began  to  be  esteemed 
less  highly.8  It  is  true  that  Varro  and  Cicero  were  of 
one  opinion  in  regard  to  Plautus,  but  Horace  held  a 
view  entirely  adverse.  Horace  and  Cicero  judged  the 
old  Roman  comedian,  each  according  to  his  own  age. 
There  are  forty-three  years  between  the  two,  and 
either  the  general  opinion  of  Plautus  had  undergone 
a  change,  or  Horace  was  not  a  correct  judge,  for  Cic- 
ero, we  know,  was  a  most  excellent  master  of  litera- 
ture and  language.     In  the  passage  referred  to,7  we 

1  Cicero,  De  Officiis,  I,  29,  104.     Testirnonia  Veterum,  LIX. 

2  Ibid.,  Cat.  mai.  de  sen.,  XIV,  50:  Testirnonia  Veterum, 
XXVIII. 

3  Wolff,  Godofr.  Aug.,  Prolegomena  ad  Plauti  Aululariam, 
1836. 

4  Teuffel-Schwabe,  Hist,  of  Rom.  Lit.  Tr.  by  Geo.  C.  W. 
Warr,  1891,  I,  p.  142. 

5  Horace,  Epistles,  II,  1,  58.     Testirnonia  Veterum,  LVII. 

6  Teuffel-Schwabe,  Hist,  of  Rom.  Lit.  Tr.  by  Ge\  C.  W. 
Warr,  1891,  I,  p.  144. 

7  Horace,  Epistles,  II,  1,  55  sqq.     Testirnonia  Veterum,  LVII. 


On  the  Comedies  of  Ben  Jonson.  7 

perceive  that  the  satiric  poet  felt  keenly  the  great 
popularity  of  Plautus.  Again  in  the  Ars  Poetica,  we 
find  the  sentiment  expressed  which  amounts  almost 
to  one  of  envy. 

Fingere  cinctutis  non  exaudita  Cethegis 
Continget,  dabiturque  licentia  sumpta  pudenter, 
Et  nouafictaque  nuper  habebunt  uerba  fidem,  si 
Graeco  fontc  cadcnt  parcc  detorta.    quid  autem 
Caecilio  Plautoque  dabit  Romanics  ademption 
Vergilio  Varioque?    ego  cur,  adquirere  pauca 
Si  possum,  inuideor,  cum  lingua  Catonis  et  Enni 
Sermonem  patrium  ditauerit  et  noua  rerutn 
Nomina  protulerit  ?    limit  semperque  licebit 
Signatum  praesente  nota  producere  nomen. ' 

This  was  a  severe  blow  to  the  memory  of  Plautus,  a 
blow,  that,  although  it  does  not  appear  to  have  injured 
his  reputation  among  the  Romans,  has  been  felt  more 
among  the  moderns  than  the  praises  of  Cicero  or  of 
Varro,  and  it  is,  perhaps,  one  of  the  reasons  why  his 
plays  are  not  more  generally  read.2  Horace  makes 
complaint 3  of  the  slip-shod  metres,  his  abuse  of  comic 
art  and  the  stock  characters  of  the  Plautine  comedies. 
"  For  Plautus,"  he  says  : 

Gestit  nummum  in  loculos  demit t ere.  post  hoc 
Securus  cadat  an  recto  stet/abula  talo. 4 

The  ancient  comedian  appears  also  to  have  been  the 
favorite  author  in  the  early  Christian  era,  and  during 
the  later  Middle  Ages.  He  was  the  comfort  and  de- 
light of  theologians  and  philosophers,   for  Eusebius, 

1  Horace,  Art.  Poet.,  50  sqq.     Testimonia  Veterum,  JJKIII. 

2  Foreign  Quarterly  Review,  Vol.  31,  p.  199. 

3  Horace,  Art.  Poet.,  263  sqq.     Testimonia  Veterum,  LXV. 

4  Ibid.,  Epist.,  II,  1,  175,  176.     Testimonia  Veterum,  L,XIV. 


8  The  Influence  of  Plautus 

Rufinus,1  Jerome,2  Luther  and  many  others  read  and 
found  solace  in  his  plays.  Thus  amid  all  the  changes 
of  the  centuries  of  Roman  history,  we  find  the  Plautine 
comedies  retaining  their  popularity.  The  ticket  of 
admission  to  a  representation  of  the  Casina,  which  is 
reputed  to  have  been  found  amid  the  ruins  of  Pompeii, 
would  show  that  this  play  was  acted  shortly  before 
a.d.  79.  And  according  to  Arnobius,  the  Amphitruo 
was  acted  as  late  as  the  close  of  the  third  century  after 
Christ.  Macrobius,  who  lived  to  the  early  part  of 
the  fifth  century, s  writing  of  Plautus,  ranks  him  with 
Cicero  :  duos  quos  eloquentissimos  antiqua  aetas  tulit, 
comicum  Plautum  et  oratorem  Tullium,  eos  ambos  etiam 
ad  jocorum  tienustatem  ceteris  praestitisse.* 

During  the  Middle  Ages  we  find  little  reference  to  our 
comedian,6  for  the  reason  that  his  plays  were  lost  during 
this  period,  and  were  not  found  until  1428-9. 6  Mr.  Von 
Reinhardstoettner  records  the  following:  "  Albrecht 
von  Kybe  freute  sich,  mit  etwas  Neuem  auftreten  zu 
konnen.  In  seiner  Vorrede  zur  Bacchis  heisst  es  : 
'  Plautus  der  poeta  .  .  .  hat  gemacht  VIII  bucher 
in  latein,  die  man  gemaincklich  hat,  aber  dieses  (die 

1  Rufinus,  In  Hieronymum,  II,  8,  10  t.  II,  p.  639  sqq.  Vail. 
Testimonies  Veterum,  LXXXI. 

2  Hieronymus,  Ad  Eustochium,  XXII,  30  t.  I,  p.  115  Vail. 
Testimonia  Veterum,  LXXX. 

3Teuffel-Schwabe,  Hist,  of  Rom.  Lit.  Tr.  by  Geo.  C.  W. 
Warr,  1892.     Vol.  II,  p.  433. 

4  Macrobius,  Saturn.,  II,  1,  10.  Testimonia  Veterum, 
XXXV. 

6Teuffel-Schwabe,  Hist,  of  Rom.  Lit.  Tr.  by  Geo.  C.  W. 
Warr,  1891.     Vol.  I,  p.  146. 

6  Vgl.  Dr.  Georg  Voigkt,  Die  Wiederbelebung  des  Klassischen 
Altertums  oder  das  erste.  Jahrhundert  des  Humanismus. 
Berlin,  Reimer  (1859),  S.  140. 


On  the  Comedies  of  Ben  Jonson.  9 

Bacchides)  hernach  geschriben  piichlin  mit  sampt 
andren  aylffen,  die  sein  lange  zeyt  wol  bey  funff hun- 
dertjaren  oder  mer  verlorn  tmd  verporgen  gewesen,  und 
neylich  im  Concilio  zu  Basel  wider  gefitnden,  also  dz  die 
materi  wider  ney  w  ist  bey  gelerten  und  ungelerten,  und 
darumb  desteer  lustiger  und  girlicher  zu  lesen. '  "  '  And, 
' '  Acht  seiner  Stiicke  .  .  .  waren  stets  bekannt ;  die 
iibrigen  fand  Nikolaus  von  Trier  utn  das  Jahr  1428  und 
1429. 2  Die  Vidularia  ging  erst  im  Mittelalter  verloren. ' ' 3 

Plautus  was  also  unknown  to  Hrotswitha  von 
Gandersheim,  the  imitator  of  Terence,  who  lived  about 
960. 4 

A  reason  why  the  Plautine  comedies  were  brought 
practically  into  forgetfulness  up  to  the  end  of  the  four- 
teenth century  is  assigned  by  Mr.  von  Reinhardstoett- 
ner  :  "  Diese  fiinfhundert  zwei  und  dreissig  Verse  (by 
Vital  de  Blois 6)  umfassende  Dichtung,  in  ziemlich  unge- 
lenkem  Latein  geschrieben,  jedoch  ausgezeichnet  durch 
satirische  Scharfe,  brachte  bis  zum  Ende  des  vierzehn- 
ten  Jahrhunderts  die  plautinische  Komodie  formlich  in 
Vergessenheit. c  Die  Schriftsteller  des  dreizehnten  und 
vierzehnten  Jahrhunderts  sind  reich  an  Anspielungen 
und  Zitaten  aus  Vitals  Amphitryon,  und  von  seiner 
grossen  Beliebtheit  zeugen  zahlreiche  Handschriften. ' ' 7 
But  though  the  Geta  made  one  forget  Plautus,  soon 
the  triumph  of  scholasticism,  of  the  mysteries  and  of 
the  moralities  made  France  forget  Geta.     Chassang,  1. 

1  Reinhardstoettner,  Karl  von,  Plautus,  1886,  p.  88. 
*  Ibid.,  pp.  18,  19,  and  Note  1. 

3  Ibid.,  p.  18. 

4  Teuffel-Schwabe,  Hist,  of  Rom.  Lit.    Tr.  by  Geo.  C.  W. 
Warr,  1891,  I,  p.  146. 

5  Reinhardstoettner,  Karl  von,  Plautus,  1886,  p.  124. 

6  Ibid.,  p.  128. 

1 1bid.,  p.  128,  and  Note  2. 


-» 


io  The  Influence  of  Plautus 

c-  P-  33-  "  Le  Geta  avait  fait  oublier  Plaute  :  bient&t 
le  triomphe  de  la  scholastique,  des  mysteres,  des  mo- 
ralities fit  oublier  en  France  le  Geta."  l 

When  the  drama  was  struggling  to  emerge  at  the  be- 
ginning of  the  sixteenth  century,  the  plays  of  Plautus 
were  the  most  popular  sources,  2&A  furnished  the  main 
stream  in  which  the  various  sources  of  Miracle  Plays, 
Mysteries  and  Moralities  were  to  unite.2  Plautus, 
more  than  any  other  author,  was  the  mold  in  which 
the  modern  drama  was  to  harden  down  into  a  definite 
and  popular  form.  When  Lucrezia  Borgia  went  to 
Ferrara,  in  1502,  as  the  bride  of  Alfonso  d'  Este,3  Duke 
Ercole  I.  gave  a  marriage  entertainment  of  extraordi- 
nary splendor  to  the  young  couple.  It  was  spread  out 
over  five  days,  and  each  night  a  different  comedy  by 
Plautus  was  presented,  embellished  with  musical  inter- 
ludes and  ballets  on  classical  and  allegorical  subjects. 
' '  Plautus  with  a  ballet  was  a  species  of  comedy  that  could 
have  found  no  place  at  the  Globe  or  the  Blackfriars. ' '  * 
These  comedies  were  put  on  the  Italian  stage  at  this 
time  with  picturesque  brilliancy,  and  at  the  court  of 
Ferrara,  a  comedy  was  never  given  without  its  ballet, 
serving  as  interludes  between  the  acts  of  the  Plautine 
dramas.  When  the  Amphitruo  was  represented  in 
1491,  at  the  marriage  of  Anna  Sforza — the  pantomimic 
performance  between  the  acts  was  magnificent.6     But 

1  Reinhardstoettner,  Karl  von,  Plautus,  1886,  p.  138,  and 
Note  1. 

2  Ward,  A.  A.,  O.  S.,  146. 

3  Teuffel-Schwabe,  Hist,  of  Rom.  Lit  Tr.  by  Geo.  C.  W. 
Warr,  1891,  I,  p.  146. 

4  Burckhardt,  I.,  Die  Cultur  der  Renaissance  in  Italien,  ed. 
1885.  Cf.  Scott,  M.  A.,  Elizabethan  Translations  from  the 
Italian.     Mod.  Eng.  Ass.  Pub.,  1896. 

"Ibid.,  Vol.11,  Chap.  IV. 


On  the  Comedies  of  Ben  Jonson.         n 

it  was  not  only  with  the  secular  writers  and  the  society 
world  that  this  ancient  comedian  found  favor.  For 
that  most  learned  representative  of  Christianity  and 
accomplished  writer,1  Hieronymus,  had  written  to 
Eustochius  :  post  noctium  crebras  tiigilias,  post  lacrimas, 
quas  mihi  praeteritorum  recordatio  peccatorum  ex  imis 
uisceribus  eruebat,  Plautus  sumebatur  in  manus?  And, 
if  we  take  up  the  Colloquies  of  Erasmus,  we  find  nearly 
every  page  filled  with  Plautine  expressions  and  phrases. 
Also,  when  Luther,  in  1508,  entered  the  monastery  of 
Erfurt,  Plautus  and  Vergil,  only,  of  the  profane  writers, 
were  his  chosen  companions. 

Nearly  a  hundred  years  later,  Meres,  in  his  Palladis 
Tamia,  or  Wits'  Treasury  (1598),  the  date  of  Ben  Jon-  ^ 
son's  first  play,  Every  Man  in  His  Humour,  writes  : 
"  As  Plautus  and  Seneca  are  accounted  the  best  for 
comedy  and  tragedy  among  the  Latins,  so  Shakespeare 
among  the  English  is  the  most  excellent  in  both  kinds 
for  the  stage."  {Cf.  Hamlet.'"')  The  imitation  of  some 
of  his  plays  by  the  best  modern  poets  shows  that  the 
judgment  of  the  ancient  and  more  modern  critics  is  the 
same.4  This  popularity  as  late  as  the  early  years  of 
the  eighteenth  century  is  shown  by  the  following  de- 
scription by  Lady  Mary  Wortley  Montague,  in  a  letter 
to  Pope,  of  a  representation  of  an  Atnphitruo  in  Vienna, 
in  1716:  ' '  They  have  but  one  play  house,  where  I  had 

1  Teuffel-Schwabe,  Hist,  of  Rom.  Lit.    Tr.  by  Geo.  C.  W. 
Warr,  1892,  II,  p.  407. 

2  Hieronymus,  Ad  Eustochium,  XXII,  30  t.  I,  p.  115  Vail. 
Testimonia  Veterum,  L,XXX. 

3  Shakespeare,  Wm,    "Seneca   cannot    be  too  heavy,   nor 
Plautus  too  light,"  Hamlet,  A.  II,  s.  2. 

4  Harrington,  C.  S.,  Titi  Macci  Plauti   Captivi,  Trinummus 
et  Rudens.    The  Metres  of  Plautus,  Preface. 


12      Influence  of  Plautus  on  Ben  Jonson. 

a  curiosity  to  go  to  a  German  comedy,  and  was  very 
glad  it  happened  to  be  the  story  of  Amphitruo. ' ' 

The  great  fame  of  Plautus  is  but  slightly  reflected  in 
our  day.  The  position  he  now  holds  is  quite  different 
from  what  it  was  but  three  centuries  ago.  No  author 
has  had  so  marked  a  fall  from  a  lofty  position  among 
writers.  He  is  at  present  rarely  quoted,  seldom  men- 
tioned and  frequently  underrated.  The  cause  of  this 
decadence  in  popularity  is  due  in  part  to  the  develop- 
ment of  the  novel  and  the  appearance  of  the  Shake- 
spearian plays.  Plautus  once  held  the  position  which 
Shakespeare  now  holds  ;  yet  he  is  not  superseded,  for 
he  does  not  rank  with  Shakespeare,  but  with  Ben  Jon- 
son and  Moliere.  Though  an  author  of  great  merit, 
yet,  engaged  on  the  same  subjects  which  Shakespeare 
has  made  his  own,  and  where  the  latter  has  done  his 
work  so  much  better,  the  older  comedian  has  fallen 
into  oblivion  —  a  fate  quite  undeserved. 

Ben  Jonson,  in  his  eulogy  on  Shakespeare,  has 
summed  up  the  effect  of  the  latter  on  the  reputation  of 
the  old  dramatists,  thus  : 

"  The  merry  Greek,  tart  Aristophanes, 
Neat  Terence,  witty  Plautus,  now  not  please  ; 
But  antiquated  and  deserted  lie, 
As  they  were  not  of  nature's  family." 


II. 


THAT  THE  LITERARY  STYLE  OP  PLAUTUS  WAS  SUCH 
AS  WOULD  APPEAL  DIRECTLY  TO  THE  PEOPLE. 

THERE  is  a  theory,  generally  conceded,  that  the 
comedies  of  Plautus  and  Terence,  being  repro- 
ductions from  the  Greek,  display  little  originality  of 
conception.1  Plautus  brought  upon  the  Roman  stage 
the  fictitious,  but  typical  characters  which  were  the 
creations  of  the  Greek  New  Comedy  writers  during 
the  period  320-250  b.c.2  It  avails  little,  however,  for 
practical  purposes  that  these  comedies  are  not  original 
with  Plautus,  since  we  have  lost  the  whole  of  the  Greek 
New  Comedy,3  and  are  in  possession  of  the  best  Latin 
comedies  founded  on  them,  i.  c,  the  six  assigned  to 
Terence,4  and  twenty  of  the  twenty-one  selected  by 
Varro  as  the  genuine  plays  of  Plautus.6 

It  would  be  impossible,  from  the  fragments  of  the 
New  Comedy  which  we  possess,  to  form  a  proper  judg- 
ment regarding  the  poetical  character  of  the  author," 

'Russell,  Isaac  Franklin,  D.C.L.,  LL.D.,  Outline  Study  of 
Law,  1900,  p.  96. 

2  Teuffel-Schwabe,  Hist  of  Rom.  Lit.  Tr.  by  Geo.  C.  W. 
Warr,  M.A.,  1891,  I,  p.  21. 

3  Freeman,  C.  E.  and  Sloman,  Rev.  A.,  Titi  Macci  Plauti 
Trinummus,  Introd.,  1896. 

4  Teuffel-Schwabe,  Hist,  of  Rom.  Lit.  Tr.  by  Geo.  C.  W. 
Warr,  M.A.,  1891,  I,  p.  159. 

5  Gellius,  N.  A.,  Ill,  3,  14  sqq.     Testimonia  Veterum,  XXI. 

6  Mommsen,  Hist,  of  Rome,  Vol.  II,  p.  521,  1894. 

13 


14  The  Influence  of  Plautus 

or  to  estimate  the  amount  of  originality  which  belongs 
to  any  single  play. '  Mommsen  says :  ' '  Those  portions 
which  can  with  certainty  be  traced  to  the  translator  are, 
to  say  the  least,  mediocre ;  but  they  enable  us  to  under- 
stand why  Plautus  came  to  be  and  continued  the  true 
popular  poet  of  Rome,  and  the  true  mainstay  of  the 
Roman  stage,  and  why  even  after  the  passing  away  of 
the  Roman  world,  the  theatre  has  repeatedly  reverted 
to  his  plays. "/  The  Plautine  comedies  are  neither 
original,  nor,  yet,  simple  and  rigid  translations,3  and 
no  single  play  is  strictly  Greek.  Their  exact  position 
is  somewhat  difficult  to  determine.  Just  as  plays  still 
occupy  the  French  and  English  stage,  the  plots  of 
which  are  derived  from  the  Plautine  comedies,  in  the 
same  way,  not  only  the  plots  of  these  dramas,  but 
many  expressions  used  by  the  characters  may  be  traced 
to  their  Attic  sources.4  By  introducing  Roman  ideas 
he  has  given  to  the  delicate  Attic  comedies  of  Menan- 
der,5  and  to  the  less  delicate  of  Philemon 6  and  Diphilus,7 
a  distinctive  Roman  or  Italian  coloring.  It  is  in  his 
power  of  transmuting,  not  merely  of  verbally  translat- 
ing, that  the  originality  of  Plautus  consists.8  He  was 
himself  so  full  of  his  own  ideas,  that  he  constantly 

1  Freeman,  C.   E.  and  Sloman,  Rev.  A.,  Titi  Macci  Plauti 
Trinummus,  Introd.,  1896. 

2  Mommsen,  Hist,  of  Rome,  Vol.  II,  p.  521,  1894. 

3  Teuffel-Schwabe,  Hist,  of  Rom.  Lit.     Tr.  by  Geo.  C.  W. 
Warr,  M.A.,  1891,  I,  p.  141. 

4  Fortnightly  Review,  7,  p.  661. 

5  Testimonia   Veterum,   XIV.     Cf.  Teuffel-Schwabe,    Hist, 
of  Rom.  Lit.,  I,  pp.  137,  139. 

6  Prologus  Mercatoris,  v.  5  sq.     Testimonial  t'eterum,  XL. 

7  Prologus  Casinae,  v.  31  sqq.   Testimonia  Veterum,  XXXVIII. 

8  Teuffel-Schwabe,   Hist,  of  Rom.  Lit.    Tr.  by  Geo.  C.  W. 
Warr,  1891,  Vol.  I,  p.  141. 


On  the  Comedies  of  Ben  Jonson.         15 

deserts  his  originals  ;  and,  while  no  match  for  his  Greek 
models,1  he  understands,  in  the  point  of  language,  to 
give  new  force,  freshness,  soundness.  In  all  these 
comedies,  Plautus  always  proves  himself  an  original 
genius,  in  spite  of  foreign  sources,  independent  as  a 
master  in  art  and  form  ;  inventive  and  original,  with 
his  own  wit,  which  is  frequently  coarse,  but  not  fre- 
quently stale.2  "  In  nationalizing  and  localizing  for- 
eign material,"  says  Mr.  Karl  von  Reinhardstoettner, 
"  Plautus  excels  Terence."  s  However  Plautus  may 
have  learned  Greek,  his  plays  give  little  indication 
that  he  knew  the  literature  otherwise,  and  without 
the  training  he  could  neither  feel  nor  represent  the 
style  of  his  Greek  originals. 

On  the  other  hand,  the  types  of  character,  the  plots, 
and  situations  of  the  New  Comedy  are  in  their  nature 
cosmopolitan.  The  interest  lies  in  the  incidents  of 
domestic  life,  and  not  in  the  representation  of  contem- 
porary history.4  The  jnonotojnx_g£_pk)t,  enlivened  by 
comic  incidents,  the  love  intrigues,  th^xonatanlxecur-  v_ 
rence  of  stock  characters — so  familiar  to  us  in  Ben  Jon-  y  \,yv* 
son^s_comedies — mark  each  Plautine  play  as  belonging 
to  the  Comoedia  Palliata,6  i.  c,  the  characters  osten- 
sibly Greek,  actors  wearing  the  native  costume,  and 
the  scene  laid  in  some  Greek  town.6     In  this  the  origi- 

1  Teuffel-Schwabe,  Hist,  of  Rom.  Lit.  Tr.  by  Geo.  C.  W. 
Warr,  1891,  Vol.  I,  p.   141. 

2  Reinhardstoettner,  Karl  von,  Plautus.     (Cf.  Ibid.  (7)). 

3  Ibid. 

4  Freeman,  C.  E.  and  Sloman,  Rev.  A.,  Titi  Macci  Plauti 
Trinummus,  I-+  xl.,  1896. 

6  Harrington,  ^..  S.,  Preface  to  his  Titi  Macci  Plauti  Captivi, 
Trinummus  et  Rudens. 

6  Teuffel-Schwabe,  Hist,  of  Rom.  Lit.  Tr.  by  Geo.  C.  W. 
Warr,  1891,  I,  p.  19. 


1 6  The  Influence  of  Plautus 

nal  presented  slight  obstacles  to  the  translator.  The 
characters  frequently  retain  their  Greek  names,  and  we 
meet  with  numerous  allusions  to  Greek  myths  and 
Greek  contemporary  history.  In  matters  relating  to 
religion,  to  soldiers,  to  social  customs,  to  money,  and 
to  many  such  details,  the  plays  are  little  more  than 
translations  from  Greek  words.1  But  the  buoyant 
spirit'1  which  expresses  itself  in  the  comedies  is  the 
youthful  and  boisterous  spirit  of  Rome  ;  and,  in  par- 
ticular, the  large  place  which  music  and  dancing  took 
in  the  presentation  can  only  be  attributed  to  the  germs 
of  the  Italian  dramatic  element  awakening  to  a  new 
life,  at  a  period  when  the  L,atin  language  was  in  its 
exuberance,  i.  e.,  its  formative  period,3  just  as  Ben 
Jonso?i,s  period,  or  the  one  preceding  (J.  e.,  Marlowe's) 
was  the  formative  period  in  English  literature. 

But  the  influence  of  Plautus  on  posterity  is  the  same, 
whether  he  is  allowed  the  merit  of  originality  or 
not.  The  extent  of  his  originality  is  important  only 
as  to  the  question  of  his  individual  merits.  A  play 
may  be  so  adapted  as  to  have  a  strong  original  color- 
ing. Plautus  and  Terence  both  copied  Greek  models, 
yet  the  copies  are  as  different  in  all  the  great  criteria  of 
poetic  merit  as  though  they  were  originals.  Terence 
is  totally  deficient  in  the  true  comic  power,  while  Plau- 
tus is  hearty,  strong,  and  humorous.4 

The  not  infrequently  coarse,  but  always  effective, 

'Teuffel-Schwabe,  Hist,  of  "Rom.  Lit.     Tr.  by  Geo.  C.  W. 
Warr,  1891,  I,  p.  142. 
QMackail,  J.  W.,  Latin  Literature,  1895,  p.  22. 

3  Teuffel-Schwabe,  Hist,  of  Rom.  Lit.  Tr.  by  Geo.  C.  W. 
Warr,  1S91,  I,  p.  141. 

4  Mommsen,  Hist,  of  Rome,  III,  p.  538.  Cf.  Quarterly  Re- 
view, 173,  p.  50. 


On  the  Comedies  of  Ben  Jonson.         17 

laying  on  of  Roman  local  tints  over  the  Greek  ground- 
work, which  Plautus  was  fond  of,  is  not  found  in  Ter- 
ence. "The  Plautine  dialogue,"  says  Mommsen, 
"  beyond  doubt,  departed  frequently  from  its  models, 
while  Terence  even  boasts  of  the  verbal  adherence  of 
his  imitations  to  originals."  '  In  transferring  Greek 
dramas  to  the  Roman  stage,  it  was  impossible  to  avoid 
inconsistencies,2  unless  the  adapter  were  willing  to  Lat- 
inize the  piece  thoroughly  in  language,  name,  scene, 
and  character.  This  course  would  have  been  in  defi- 
ance of  public  opinion,  which  would  have  been  shocked 
had  the  libertinism  of  decaying  Greece  been  attributed 
to  the  Romans. 3  Plautus  not  only  admits  this  incon- 
gruity, but,  unlike  Terence,  he  even  intrudes  into  the 
streets  of  Athens,  amid  Greek  scenes  and  Greek  char- 
acters, allusions  to  the  gods,  laws,  magistrates,  and 
localities  of  Rome.4 

/We  may  regard  as  eminently  characteristic  of  Plau- 
tus the  masterly  handling  of  the  language,  the  rare 
skill  in  adjusting  and  working  the  situation  for  dramatic 
effect,  the  clever  dialogue  ;  but,  above  all,  the  broad 
fresh  humor,  which  produces  an  irresistibly  comic 
effect,  with  its  jokes,  its  rich  vocabulary  of  nicknames, 
its  whimsical  coinage  of  words,  its  pungent  and  mimic 
descriptions.5     Plautus  wrote  for  no  inner  circle  of 

1  Mommsen.  Cf.  Teuffel-Schwabe,  Hist,  of  Rom.  Lit.  Tr.  by 
Geo.  C.  W.  Warr,  1891,  I,  p.  165. 

2  Teuffel-Schwabe,  Hist,  of  Rom.  Lit.  Tr.  by  Geo.  C.  W. 
Warr,  1891,  I,  p.  142. 

3 Freeman,  C.  E.  and  Sloman,  Rev.  A.,  Introd.  to  Titi  Macci 
Plauti  Trinummus,  1S96. 

4  Ibid.  Cf.  Teuffel-Schwabe,  Hist,  of  Rom.  Lit.  Tr.  by 
Geo.  C.  W.  Warr,  1891,  I,  p.  142. 

6  Mommsen,  Hist,  of  Rome,  II,  p.  523.  Cf.  Cruttwell,  C. 
T.,  A  Hist,  of  Rom.  Lit.,  1886,  p.  47. 


1 8  The  Influence  of  Plautus 


; 


Laelii;  the  laughter  of  the  pit  was  his  reward.  Yet  his 
wit  attracted  all  classes  of  citizens,  and  his  imitators 
are  among  those  whose  names  are  the  greatest  in 
modern  literature.' 

Plautus  popularized  the  sentimental  comedy  of  the 
Greeks,  and  became  the  national  dramatist  of  Rome, 
and  the  Father  of  our  modern  drama.  With  him  every- 
thing goes  into  breadth,  and  indicates  intercourse  with 
the  lower  classes.  The  more  plebeian  the  humor,  the 
more  likely  it  was  to  catch  the  fancy,  j  Always  in 
the  scenes  where  the  slaves,  parasites,  and  cooks  are  the 
chief  actors,  we  descend  to  a  distinctly  lower  level. 
Such  scenes,  where  Plautine  words  and  jests  are  to  be 
found  in  abundance,  are  eminently  Plautine  in  char- 
acter,2 for  they  are  the  outgrowth  of  the  times  and  cir- 
cumstances 3  in  which  their  author  lived.  The  dramatic 
poet  must  find  his  delight  and  reward  in  the  applause  of 
the  people,  and  Plautus,  catching  the  spirit  of  ribaldry 
that  prevailed,  catered  to  those  elements  in  the  public 
character,  which  made  him  the  people's  poet  and  won 
for  him  an  unrivalled  popularity.4 

"  In  der  Widmung  seines  Lustspieles,  The  Way  of 
the  World,"  says  Mr.  Karl  von  Reinhardstoettner,  "an 
Ralph,  Earl  of  Montague,  sagt  er  :  '  Some  of  the 
coarsest  strokes  of  Plautus,  so  severely  censured  by 
Horace,  were  more  likely  to  affect  the  multitude  :  such 
who  came  with  expectation  to  laugh  at  the  last  act  of 
a  play  and  are  better  entertained  with  two  or  three 

,     '  Reinhardstoettner,  Karl  von,  Plautus,  1886.    Cf.  National 
Quarterly,  34,  p.  72. 

2  Teuffel-Schwabe,  Hist,  of  Rom.  Lit.,  I,  p.  141.  Note  the 
scene  between  Sosia  and  Mercury  Sosia,  Am.;  the  As.,  Ill,  s.  1 ; 
or  the  '  cook  '  scene  in  the  Au.,  etc. 

3  Ibid.,  p.  142.  *Ibid.,  p.  141. 


On  the  Comedies  of  Ben  Jonson.         19 

unseasonable  jests  than  with  the  artful  solution  of  the 
fable. '  " ]  Centuries  after,  the  drama  was  regarded  by 
Shakespeare  as  a  thing  entirely  for  the  people.  Ben 
Jonson,  his  contemporary,  says  : 

"  Truth  says,  of  old  the  art  of  making  plays  -^ 

Was  to  content  the  people  ;  and  their  praise 
Was  to  the  poet  money,  wine,  and  bays."  2 

Plautus  did  not  write  for  the  censorious  eye  of  future 
critics;  his  sole  object  was  to  produce  present  effect 
upon  a  promiscuous  and  mirth-loving  audience. 
Hence,  when  he  has  found  those  elements  out  of  which 
he  can  make  the  audience  laugh,  he  prolongs  the 
scene  to  the  detriment  of  the  argument.3  For  this 
reason  he  kept  his  characters,  with  their  exuberant 
fun,  and  unflagging  brilliancy  of  repartee,  on  the  stage 
longer  than  their  due  proportion,  an  objection  not  in- 
frequently  made  to  Ben  Jonson's  comedies.  The  ele- 
ments of  the  Greek  play  which  were  serious  held  little 
attraction  for  Plautus  ;  in  short,  he  was  exclusively  a 
comic  poet  and  a  popular  poet,  therefore  he  selected 
that  which  would  please,  and  which  would  put  money 
into  his  pockets." 

If  we  find  in  the  comedies  of  Plautus  something 
coarse  and  rough,  the  same  may  be  said  of  Shakespeare; 
if  sometimes  they  are  pronouncedly  indelicate,  none  of 
them,  with  the  exception  of  the  Casina,  is  more  so 
than  the  plays  of  Ben  Jonson,  or  those  of  Beaumont 

1  Reinhardstoettner,  Karl  von,  Plautus,  1886,  p.  80,  Note  7. 

2  Prologue  to  The  Silent  Woman,  Ben  Jonson. 

3  Dr.  Sihler,  Ernest  G. 

4Teuffel-Schwabe,  Hist,  of  Rom.  Lit.  Tr.  by  Wm.  Wagner, 
p.  123.  Cf.  Tr.  by  Geo.  C.  W.  Warr,  I,  p.  141.  Cf.  Horace, 
Epistles,  II,  1,  175. 


20  The  Influence  of  Plautus 

and  Fletcher,  or  Massinger  and  Ford  in  the  time  of 
James  I.,  or  Etherage  and  Shadwell  during  the  reigns 
of  Charles  II.  and  his  successors.  If  we  do  not  always 
find  in  the  Plautine  comedies  pleasing  views  of  human 
nature,  we  have  strong  studies  in  his  typical  characters, 
for  Plautus  depicts  his  characters  entirely  according  to 
nature.1  His  strong  point  does  not  lie  in  the  plot,  but 
in  the  sermo,2  in  the  detail,3  and  in  the  harmonious 
union  of  parts,  where  speech  and  counter-speech  follow 
in  rapid  succession.4  The  mutual  relation  of  speeches 
one  to  another  is  of  the  greatest  importance.  The  slave, 
who  is  subject  to  the  whims  of  a  master  inferior  in  in- 
tellect, raises  himself  to  a  moral  equality  with  him  by  a 
skilful  play  of  words,  or  finds  consolation  in  pert  repeti- 
tions./ Line  671  sg.  of  the  B.,  as  also  the  closing  scene 
of  the  Mo.,  illustrate  this  peculiar  pertness  of  the  slave. 
"  Plautus,"  says  Mr.  von  Reinhardstoettner,  "  is  ac- 
counted for  his  witty  and  vivacious  answers.  As  a 
poet  of  such  accomplishments,  he,  as  well  as  Terence, 
has  served  as  a  model  for  all  later  centuries."  5  The 
former  makes  his  servants  speak  as  servants,  his  higher 
classes  as  such,  while  Terence  makes  all  speak  alike, 
hence,  in  this  respect  Plautus  is  the  better  artist.6  Ben 
Jonson,  criticising  his  great  colleague  for  the  same 
offence,  said:  "  Shakespeare  wanted  art  "  7 ;  and,  like 

1  Reinhardstoettner,  Karl  von,  Plautus,  1886. 
8Varro,  Apud  Nonium,  p.  374,  5  M.   Testimonia   Veterum, 
LVI.     Cf.  Varro,  Apud  Charisium,  II,  p.  241,  27  K. 

3  Dr.  Sihler,  Ernest  G. 

4  Bibliotheca  Sacra,  Vol.  10,  p.  326. 

5  Reinhardstoettner,  Karl  von,  Plautus,  18S6,  p.  17. 

6  Ibid. 

'  Gilchrist,  Octavius.  An  examination  of  the  charges  main- 
tained by  Messrs.  Malone,  Chalmers,  and  others  of  Ben  Jonson's 
enmity,  etc.,  toward  Shakespeare. 


On  the  Comedies  of  Ben  Jonson.         21 

his  ancient  model,  Jonson  always  keeps  his  characters 
true  to  their  station. 

We  are  sure  to  get  a  fair  idea  of  the  art  of  Plautus 
in  those  scenes  where  the  action  of  the  play  apparently 
ceases,  and  there  is  a  comic  passage  at-arms_o£_Eal- 
staffiaa.  repartee,.. generally  full  of  wit  and  humor, 
where  the  Plautine  words,1  puns,'J  and  jests  3  occur  in 
rapid  succession^  Here  we  can  detect  those  delicate 
little  ear-marks,  peculiarities  or  characteristics,  which 
betray  the  hand  of  Plautus.  Piins^  7tapavofxaaia) 
alliteration  and  assonance,  which  abound  in  these  pas- 
sages, are  not  the  highest  form  of  wit,  and  the  lower 
the  general  type  of  the  dialogue  the  more  we  have  of 
these  L,atin  characteristics.  /  The  slave  usually  aims  to 
get  all  he  can  out  of  the  situation,  and  so  does  Plau- 
tus." /An  instance  of  this  may  be  found  in  the  B.,  11. 
51-55,  and  especially,  1.  53  sq.  : 

PI.  Quia,  B&cchis,  Bacchas  metuo  et  bacchanal  tuom. 

BA.  Quid  est?    quid  metuisT?   ne"    tibi  lectus  malitiam  apud 

me  suadeat  ? 
PI.  Magis  inlectum  tu6m  quam  lectum  tndtuo, 

and  at  line  65  sq. ,  where  there  is  a  profusion  of  words 
which  seem  almost  to  tumble  over  each  other  in  their 
effort  to  be  expressed.  If  this  passage  is  read  rapidly 
we  may  catch  the  true  Plautine  spirit  : 

SO.   Quid  ab  hac  metuis?    PI.  Quid  ego  metuam  r6gitas? 

adulescens  homo 
P£netrem  me  huius  modi  in  palaestram,  ubi  ddmnis  desud&sci- 

tur? 
Vbi  pro  disco  damnum  capiam,  pr6  cursura  d£decus  ? 

'Dr.   Sihler,    Ernest  G.      Cf.  Plautus,  B.,  1.   io83.    Stulti, 
stolidi,  fatui,  fungi,  bardi,  blenni,  bucc6nes. 

5  Ibid.,  11.  340,  362  ;  cf.  Au.,  1.  78 ;  Cp.,  1.  103,  etc. 

3  Ibid.  *  Note  the  As.,  1.  657  sqq.     ...     11.  700-704  sq. 


22  The  Influence  of  Plautus 

Or,  11.  115,  116  B. 

PI.  Am6r,  Voluptas,  Venus,  Veuustas,  Gaudium, 
locus,  L,udus,  Sermo,  Suauisauiatio. 

His  vocabulary  is  especially  rich  in  terms  of  endear- 
ment^jwhich  are  often  grouped  together  in  doublets 
and  triplets,1  —  Meum,  corculum,  melculum,  uerculum? 
and  occasionally,  with  still  greater  variety,  as  : 

M£a  uoluptas,  mea  delicia,  m€a  uita,  mea  amo£nitas, 
Meus  ocellus,  meum  labellum,  mea  salus,  meum  s&uium, 
Meum  mel,  meum  cor,  mea  colustra,  mdus  molliculus  cdseus.3 

Since  the  tricks  and  deceptions  forming  the  staple  of 
the  New  Comedy  are  generally  contrived  and  executed 
by  cunrjdng.slayes,,^hjQse  .mastejs_are_the  victims,  there 
ar£  numerous  words-and..piirasesr.  coined -by  Plautus  for 
the4111rpo.se,4  which  are  applied  as  taunts  to  those  slaves 
who  had  previously  paid  the  penalty  6  for  a  similar 
offence.  The  idea  of  flogging  is  made  to  assume  many 
fantastic  forms.6  Terms  of  abuse  referring  to  corporal 
punishment 7 — often  with  a  more  general  application8  — 
are  usually  addressed  to  slaves  and  lenones,  and  these 
characters  frequently  make  interchange  of  the  coarsest 

1  Ramsay,  Wm.,  Plautus,  Mostellaria.    Prolegomena,  p.  280. 
Cf.  Plautus,  As.,  1.  670. 
*  Plautus,  Cs.,  1.  837. 

*/6id.,Po.,\l.  365-367. 

4 Ramsay,  Wm.,  Plautus,  Mostellaria.    Prolegomena,  p.  250. 

6  Ibid.    Excursions  on  the  Punishment  of  Slaves,  p.  254  sqq. 

6  Plautus,  £.,  11.  625,  626.     Cf.  Ibid.    Po.,  1.  28,  etc. 

1  Allen,  Fred.  D.,  On  os  columnatum  (Plautus'  Mi.,  211)  and 
Ancient  Instruments  of  Confinement.  Harvard  Studies  in  Clas- 
sical Philology,  VII,  1896. 

8  Ramsay,  Wm.,  Plautus,  Mostellaria.     Prolegomena,  p.  280. 


On  the  Comedies  of  Ben  Jonson.         2 


j 


Billingsgate. 1  The  most  prolonged  series  of  colloquial 
amenities  is  to  be  found  in  the  Ps.,  1.  133  sqq.  and  1. 
360  sqq.  Women,  also,  conie  m  for^  a  portion^of  this 
abuse.2 

Terms  of  imprecation__are  varied  and  whimsical.3 
The  dialogue  is  interlarded  with  the  multitude  of  abju- 
rations which  are  mere  expletives,  destitute  of  any 
particular  meaning  or  emphasis,  and  which  correspond 
to  those  so  constantly  used  by  Ben  Jonson  in  his  com- 
edies. These  words  appeal  to  the  popular  deities,  the 
Great  Twin  Brethren,  and  Hercules,  expressed  by  Pol, 
Ecastor,  Hercule,  and  Hercle. 4  These  were  the  everyday 
oaths  with  the  Romans,  and  were  used  to  add  weight 
to  the  assertions  of  the  speaker.  A  literal  translation 
would  hardly  be  tolerated  by  the  English,  and  they  are 
best  translated  by  such  expressions  as  Jonson' $  faith, 
troth,  by  my  troth,  by  St.  George,  Hercules,  Hercle,  Pol, 
'slid,  etc. 

Wojds,  and_-terms._denating  roguery-  are  abundant, 
and  are  imitated  by  Ben  Jonson  in  such  coined  words  as 
titivilitium,  Burgullion,  Clapper  Dudgeon,  and  the  cant 
terms  frapier,  giglot,  glicks,  irpe,  vapour,  and  other 
similar  words.  The  idea  of  deception  is  presented  in 
various  forms,  many  of  them  highly  ingenious,5  like 
the  trundling  cheats,  smelt  (i.  e.  the  gull),  cautelous, 
etc.,  found  in  such  profusion  in  the  comedies  of 
Jonson.      The  ordinary  slang  phrases   used  by  the 

1  Ramsay,  Wm.,  Plautus,  Mostellaria.  Prolegomena,  p.  280. 
Cf.  The  Alchemist,  A.  I,  s.  1.  Every  Man  in  His  Humour, 
A.  Ill,  s.  2,  etc. 

2  Plautus,  Tu.,  1.  775.  Cf.  Ramsay,  Wm.,  Plautus,  Mostel- 
laria.    Prolegomena,  p.  280. 

3 Ibid.     P.,  1.  521.     Cf.  Ramsay,  Wm.,  Plautus,  Mostellaria. 
Prolegomena,  p.  280. 
4Cf.  Ibid.  b  Ibid.     Cf.  Plautus,  Ps.,  1.  1200,  etc. 


24  The  Influence  of  Plautus 

Romans  about  the  forum,  and  between  men  about 
town, J  are  frequent,  the  most  common  being  dare  ticrba 
alicui,  Dcdit  uerba  mihi*  hercle,  upinor*  A  number  of 
phrases,  which  express  trickery,  represent  the  person 
deceived  as  under  the  absolute  control  of  the  deceiver, 
who  deals  with  him  as  he  pleases.  One  of  these  is 
uendere,  to  be  sold: 4 

CH.     O  stulte,  stulte,  niseis  nunc  uenire  te  : 
Atque  in  eopse  adstas  lapide,  ut  praeco  praedicat. 
NI.     Resp6nde  :  quis  me  uendit  ? 5 

This  is  identical  with  the  modern- Iinglish— slang,  and 
Ben  Jonson  in  The  Silent  Woman  has  the  same  expres- 
sion, and  elsewhere,  i.  e.,  "  Cler.  Was  there  ever  such 
a  two  yards  of  knighthood  measured  out  by  time,  to  be 
sold  to  laughter  ?  "  6  Likewise  Shakespeare  :  "It 
would  make  a  man  as  mad  as  a  brick  to  be  so  bought 
and  sold, "  7  "  Bought  and  sold,  Lord  Talbot, ' '  8  and, 
' '  Dicon,  thy  master  is  bought  a?id  sold. ' '  9 

There  is  a  host  of  similar  expressions,  chief  among 
them  being  ducere,  to  lead  by  the  nose,  as,  qui  senem 
ducerem,™  which  occurs  frequently  in  the  Plautine  com- 
edies,11 and  these  expressions  correspond  to  those  found 
in  Jonson's  plays.  The  constant  use  of  military  meta- 
phors, and  terms  of  a  judicial  nature,  for  which  Ben 
Jonson  had  a  penchant,  were  particularly  suited  to  a 
Roman  audience. 

1  Ramsay,  Wm.,  Plautus,  Mostellaria.    Prolegomena,  p.  280. 

2  Plautus,  Ps.,  1.  909. 

3  Ramsay,  Wm.,  Plautus,  Mostellaria.     Prolegomena,  p.  263. 

4  Ibid.  6  Plautus,  B.,  11.  814-816. 
6  Jonson,  Ben,  The  Silent  Woman,  A.  II,  s.  2. 

1  Shakespeare,  Wm.,  The  Comedy  of  Errors,  A.  Ill,  s.  1. 

8  Ibid.    King  Henry  IV.,  A.  V,  s.  4. 

9  Ibid.    Rich.  III.,  A.  V,  s.  3.  I0  Plautus,  Mo.,  1.  715. 
"Ramsay,  Wm.,  Plautus,  Mostellaria.     Prolegomena,  p.  263. 


On  the  Comedies  of  Ben  Jonson.        25 

As  a  passage  in  the  Pseudolus,  replete  with  these  ex- 
pressions, is  remarkably  like  the  soliloquy  of  Brain- 
worm,  in  Jonson' s  Every  Man  in  His  Humour,  being 
full  of  the  same  spirit  of  comic  exultation  and  intent  at 
deception,  it  is  worth  comparison  : 

PS.      .      .      .      nam  dgo  in  meo  prius  pectore 

Ita  paraui  c6pias, 
Duplicis    triplicis    dolos    p€rfidias,    ut    ubiquomque  hostibus 
c6ngrediar — 

Maiorem  meum  fretus  uirtute  dicam 
Mea  industria  et  rualitia.  fraudulenta — 
Facile  ut  uincam,   facile  fit  spoliem    meos  perduellis    meis 
perfidi<i>s. 

Nunc  inimicum  ego  hfinc  communem  meum   atque 

uostr<or>um  6mnium 
Ballionern  exballistabo  lepide  :  date  operam  modo. 
H6c  ego  oppidum  ddmoenire  ut  h6die  capiatfir  uolo, 
Atque  hue  meas  legiones  adducam  :  si  expugno,  facilem  banc 

rem  meis  ciuibus  faciam  : 
Post  ad  oppidum  boc  uetus  continuo  meum  exercitum  protinus 

obducam. 
Inde  me  et  simul  participis  omnis  meos  pra£da  onerabo  atque 
6pplebo, 

Metum  et  fugam  perduellibus  meis  me<d>  ut  sciant 

natum. 
E6  sum  genere  gnatus  :    magna  m6  facinora  decet 
efficere, 
Quae  p6st  mibi  clara  et  ditt  clueant.1 

[Enter  Brainworm  disguised  as  a  maimed  soldier.] 

"  Brain.  'Slid,  I  cannot  choose  but  laugh  to  see  my- 
self translated  thus,  from  a  poor  creature  to  a  creator  ; 
for  now  must  I  create  an  intolerable  sort  of  lies,  or  my 
present  profession  loses  the  grace  :  and  yet  the  lie,  to 
a  man  of  my  coat,  is  as  ominous  a  fruit  as  the  fico.    O, 

'Plautus,  Ps.,  11.  578-592. 


26  The  Influence  of  Plautus 

sir,  it  holds  for  good  polity  ever,  to  have  that  outwardly 
in  vilest  estimation,  that  inwardty  is  most  dear  to  us  : 
so  much  for  my  borrowed  shape.  Well,  the  troth  is, 
my  old  master  intends  to  follow  my  young  master,  dry- 
foot,  over  Moorfields  to  London,  this  morning  ;  now, 
I  knowing  of  this  hunting-match,  or  rather  conspiracy, 
and  to  insinuate  myself  with  my  young  master  (for  so 
much  we  that  are  blue  waiters,  and  men  of  hope  and 
service  do,  or  perhaps  we  may  wear  motley  at  the  year's 
end,  and  who  wears  motley,  you  know),  have  got  me 
afore  in  this  disguise,  determining  here  to  lie  in  ambus- 
cado,  and  intercept  him  in  the  mid-way.  If  I  can  but 
get  his  cloak,  his  purse,  his  hat,  nay,  anything  to  cut 
him  off,  that  is,  to  stay  his  journey,  Veni,  vidi,  vici,  I 
may  say  with  captain  Caesar,  I  am  made  forever, 
i'  faith.  Well,  now  must  I  practise  to  get  the  true  garb 
of  one  of  these  lance-knights,  my  arm  here,  and  my  — 
Odso  !  my  young  master,  and  his  cousin,  master 
Stephen,  as  I  am  true  counterfeit  man  of  war,  and  no 
soldier  !  "  1  Brainworm,  as  we  may  observe,  is  the 
identical  character  of  the  old  Attic,  or  Plautine,  slave, 
transferred  to  English  soil. 

The  archaic  words  in  the  Plautine  comedies  give  an 
antique  flavor  to  the  language,2  and  the  same  may  be 
said  of  Ben  Jonson,  whose  vocabulary  is  at  times  as 
difficult  as  Shakespeare's.  Words,  coined  for  the  pur- 
pose of  expressing  various  things,  like  Turpilucricupid- 
um  in  the  Ti.,  and  Thensaurochrysonicochry  sides  in  the 
Cp.y  are  especially  noticeable.  Many  of  these  words 
are  mere  gibberish,  as  Cryphiolothronia,  Gorgondon- 
ian,  compounded  of  Greek  and  Latin  words,  while 
others  have  a  peculiar  and  humorous  significance,  as 

1  Jouson,  Ben,  Every  Man  in  His  Humour,  A.  II,  s.  2. 

2  Ramsay,  Win.,  Plautus,  Mostellaria.    Prolegomena,  p.  xvii. 


On  the  Comedies  of  Ben  Jonson.         27 

fustitudinas  ferricrcpinas,1  and  sperabilist.'1  Especially 
interesting  is  the  use  of  the  word  pergraecdmi?ii,  which 
occurs  several  times,  as, 

Dies  noctesque  bibite,  pergraecaminei.3 

And,  also, 

bibi  <te>,  pergraecamini, 
Este,  £cfer<c>ite  uos,  saginam  ca£dite,4 

where  Plautus  uses  the  word  from  the  Roman  stand- 
point, forgetting  that  the  play  is  Greek.  Ben  Jonson 
thus  uses  the  same  word  in  its  translated  form,  in  The 
Fox, 

Mos.     Let  's  die  like  Romans, 

Since  we  have  lived  like  Grecians.5 

No  modern  writer  has  excelled  Plautus  in  epigram- 
matic terseness  of  expression,  and  his  works  are  replete 
with  verbal  quibbles  and  examples  of  alliteration.  The 
juxtaposition  of  words  from  the  same  root,  like  sumptus 
sumptui*  relictae  reliquae,1  nenus  tienusta,*  etc.,  invari- 
ably betray  his  own  handiwork.  Generally  the  words 
played  upon  are  from  the  same  stem,  but  sometimes 
they  are  of  different  stems.  The  following  example 
will  be  found  to  be  ingenious  : 

TR.  repperi,  qui  senem  ducerem, 

Qu6  dolo  a  me"  dolorem  procul  pellerem.9 

and  this  from  Ben  Jonson' s  The  Silent  Woman  : 

1  Plautus,  As.,  1.  33.  5 Jonson,  Ben,  The  Fox,  A.  Ill,  s.  5. 
Ubid.,  Cp.,  1.  518.  6  Plautus,  Mo.,  1.  125. 

*Ibid.,  Mo.,  1.  22.  7 Ibid.,  1.  82.  8  Ibid.,  1.  161. 

4 Ibid.,  1.  64.  9 Ibid.,  11.  715,  716. 


28      Influence  of  Plautus  on  Ben  Jonson. 

La-F.     Why,  she  says  they  are  no  decorum  among  ladies. 
Ott.     But  they  are  decora,  and  that 's  better,  sir.1 

With  these  we  may  compare  Shakespeare  : 

Maria.  .  .  .  your  cousin,  my  lady,  takes  great  exceptions 
to  your  ill  hours. 

Sir  Toby.    Why,  let  her  except  before  excepted. 

Maria.  Ay,  but  you  must  confine  yourself  within  the  modest 
limits  of  order. 

Sir  Toby.    Confine  !  I  '11  confine  myself  no  finer  than  I  am.' 

From  the  variety  of  his  alliterative  power,  we  see 
that  Plautus  had  an  ear  for  delicate  and  harmonious 
sounds,  and  a  wonderful  intuitive  power  in  the  choice 
of  his  words.  As  a  master  of  the  L,atin  language,  es- 
pecially in  its  colloquial  forms,  he  is  unequalled,3  and 
only  paralleled  in  the  English  language  by  his  learned 
imitator,  Ben  Jonson. 

'Jonson,  Ben,  The  Silent  Woman,  A.  Ill,  s.  I. 

2  Shakespeare,  Wm.,  The  Twelfth  Night,  A.  I,  s.  3. 

3Cruttwell,  C.  T.,  A  Hist,  of  Roman  L,it,  1886,  p.  47. 


III. 


THAT  THESE   COMEDIES   BY   CONTINUED   PRESENTA- 
TION  ON  THE  STAGE   HAD   GROWN  TO   BE 
FAMILIAR  TO  THE   PUBLIC. 

A  PLEASANT  and  practical  way  of  realizing  the 
merits  of  Plautus,  of  solving  the  question  of  his 
originality,  and  of  determining  his  influence  on  pos- 
terity is  that  followed  by  Mr.  Karl  von  Reinhardstoett- 
ner,  whose  method  is  to  take  each  comedy,  and,  after 
giving  an  estimate  of  its  merits,  to  note  the  imitations 
which  he  has  observed  in  the  dramatic  literature  of 
modern  nations.1  Taine  says  :  "  Gegen  1490  beginnt 
man  die  klassiker  wieder  zu  lesen.  Zwischen  1550  und 
1616  werden  die  Werke  aller  romischen  und  griech- 
ischen  Geschichtschreiber  und  Dichter  von  Belang  ins 
Englische  ubersetzt. ' ' 2  And  of  Terence,  Mr.  von 
Reinhardstoettner  says  :  "  Schon  im  Jahre  1178  und 
1 1 80  begegnen  wir  den  Ubersetzungen  des  Terenz, 
welche  der  Benediktiner-monch  Henry  und  der  Abt 
von  Peterborough  veranstalteten.3  Terenz  wurde  in 
England  iiberhaupt  oft  ubersetzt,  und  wenn  Price  von 
einer  fast  vollstandigen  Unbekanntheit  des  Terenz  im 
Mittelalter  spricht,  so  ist  er  leicht  zu  widerlegen."  * 

1  Reinhardstoettner,  Karl  von,  Plautus,  1886. 

2  Ibid.,  p.  74.    Cf.  Taine,  H.,  Geschichte  der  Englischen  Lit- 
teratur,  Leipzig,  1877  bis  1880. 

3  Ibid.     Cf.  Note  1.     Cf.  Warton,  Tho.,  Hist,  of  Eng.  Poetry, 
1871,  I,  213.  x  Ibid.     Cf.  Note  2. 

29 


30  The  Influence  of  Plautus 

' '  At  the  period  of  the  revival  of  letters  eight  only 
of  the  Plautine  comedies  were  known  to  the  learned, 
viz.,  the  Am.,  As.,  Au.,  Cp.,  Cs.,  Ci.,  Cu.,  E.  The  first 
announcement  of  the  existence  of  a  MS.,  containing 
the  whole  of  the  twenty  which  we  now  possess,  is  made 
in  a  letter  written  from  Rome  about  the  beginning  of 
1429,  \yy  Poggio  Bracciolini '  (1340-1459),2  at  that  time 
Apostolic  Secretary  to  Pope  Martin  V.,  in  which  he 
informs  his  friend  Niccolo  Niccoli  at  Florence,  that 
Nicolas  of  Treves  had  discovered  3  in  Germany  sev- 
eral classical  works,  and  among  others  a  volume  con- 
taining twenty  plays  of  Plautus,  and  Poggio  gives  the 
titles  of  all  the  new  pieces.  In  reality  the  MS.  was 
found  to  comprise  sixteen  only,  but  of  these  twelve  4 
were  previously  unknown,  the  Cs.,  Ci.,  Cu.,  and  E. 
being  omitted.  About  the  close  of  the  year,  Nico- 
las delivered  his  treasures  to  Cardinal  Giordano 
Orsini.5  A  copy  was  sent  to  the  Duke  of  Milan  in 
143 1,  and  the  MS.  itself  was  sent  to  Florence  at  the 
request  of  L,orenzo  de'  Medici,  and  there  a  copy  of  the 
last  twelve  plays  was  made  by  Niccolo  Niccoli  with 
his  own  hand. ' '  6 

In  the  year  1472,  the  first  edition  appeared  at  Venice, 
as  the  work  of  George  Alexander  Merulae.7     Other 


1  Ramsay,  Wm.,   The  Mostellaria  of  Plautus.    Prolegomena, 
1869. 

2  Gudeman,  Dr.  Alfred,  Outlines  of  The  Hist,  of  Classical 
Philology,  1897,  p.  49. 

3  Teuffel-Schwabe,  Hist,  of  Rom.  Lit.    Tr.  by  Geo.  C.  W. 
Warr,  1891,  I,  p.  146.  4  Ibid.  6  Ibid. 

6  Ramsay,  Wm.,  The  Mostellaria  of  Plautus.     Prolegomena, 
1869. 

7  Reinhardstoettner,  Karl  von,  Plautus,  I,  p.  19.     Cf.  Hallam, 
Constitutional  Hist,  of  Eng.,  I,  Part  2,  p.  471. 


On  the  Comedies  of  Ben  J onson.         31 

editions  followed  in  1482  and  1490. :  "  Merulae,  in 
his  preface  to  the  edition  of  1472,  speaks  of  the  last 
twelve  comedies  as  having  been  discovered  forty 
years  before  the  time  when  he  was  writing,  and  adds 
that  there  was  but  one  MS.  from  which,  as  from  an 
archetype,  all  the  copies  in  circulation  had  been  de- 
rived ;  and  again,  Ugoletus,  in  15 15,  employs  the  same 
language.  It  appears  .  -  .  that  the  MS.  of  Nico- 
las of  Treves  was  copied  at  least  twice  within  two 
years  from  its  arrival  at  Rome,  and  these  copies,  and 
probably  the  original  MS.,  also,  would  be  transcribed  a 
until  the  twelve  new  plays  became  generally  known  to 
the  literary  men  of  Italy  and  Germany."  3  Of  the 
editio  princeps  (1472)  there  exist  to-day,  in  the  British 
Museum,  three  copies  ;  two  of  the  edition  of  1482,  and 
one  of  the  edition  of  1490.4  A  copy  of  a  different  edi- 
tion of  the  twenty  plays  (1495)  and  three  copies  of  an- 
other (1499)  are  catalogued  in  the  same  Library.6 

In  1552,  a  complete  edition  of  the  twenty  plays  was 
published  at  Leipsic  by  Joachim  Camerarius,8  who  had 
previously  published  (Leipsic,  1545)  five  pieces,  and 
subsequently  (Leipsic,  1549)  six  more.  Camerarius 
had  obtained  possession  of  two  MSS.  unknown  to  pre- 
vious editors.  One  of  these  contained  the  whole 
twenty  plays,  and  is  generally  known  as  the  Vetus 
Codex  Camerarii.7     The  other  is  frequently  referred 

1Hallam,  Constitutional  Hist,  of  Eng.  (Authority  Dr. 
Dobdin.) 

2  Teuffel-Schwabe,  Hist,  of  Rom.  Lit.  Tr.  by  Geo.  C.  W. 
Warr,  1891,  I,  p.  147. 

3  Ramsay,  Wm,  The  Mostellaria  of  Plautus.  Prolegomena, 
1869.  4  British  Museum  Catalogue.  5  Ibid. 

6  Teuffel-Schwabe,  Hist,  of  Rom.  Lit.  Tr.  by  Geo.  C.  W. 
Warr,  1891,  I,  p.  146.  '  Ibid. 


32 


The  Influence  of  Plautus 


to  as  the  Codex  Decurtatus,  for,  although  it  had  origi- 
nally contained  the  whole  twenty,  the  first  eight  had 
been  torn  off,  and  had  disappeared  before  it  came  into 
the  hands  of  Camerarius.1  Ben  Jonson's  last  com- 
V  edy,  A  Tale  of  a  Tub,  was  written  in  1633.  Previous 
to  1630,  there  had  been  issued  fifty-two  separate  edi- 
tions of  the  Plautine  comedies,  in  whole  or  in  part,  of 
which  copies  exist  in  the  British  Museum  Library: 
i.  e.,  five  previous  to  1500  a.d.,  thirty-one  between 
this  date  and  1600,  and  fifteen  between  1600  and  1630. 2 
An  English  version  of  the  Andria  of  Terence  was 
printed  in  1530.3  Another  translation  was  printed  in 
158S,  and  this  appears  to  be  the  second  translation  into 
our  language  of  any  of  Terence's  works.  The  Me- 
naechmi  of  Plautus  was  translated  and  represented  in 
Italy  earlier  than  any  other  play  (1508).4  And  Mr. 
Collier  thinks  it  had  been  brought  upon  the  stage  in 
England  at  an  early  date.  Ariosto  was  the  first  to 
conceive  and  carry  into  effect  the  idea  of  regular  com- 
edies in  imitation  of  the  ancients.5  His  second  comedy, 
the  Suppositi,  is  chiefly  an  imitation  of  the  Captivi  of 
Plautus,  and  the  Eunuchus  of  Terence.  Gascoigne's 
comedy,  the  Supposes*  the  earliest  existing  play  in 

1  Ramsay,  Wm.,  The  Mostellaria  of  Plautus.  Prolegomena, 
1869. 

2  British  Museum  Catalogue.  Cf.  Hildyard's  Recensus  Codi- 
cum,  Aulularia.     Cambridge,  1839. 

'Collier,  J.  P.,  The  Hist,  of  Eng.  Dramatic  Poetry  to  the 
Time  of  Shakespeare.  The  Annals  of  the  Stage  to  the  Restora- 
tion, 1831,  I,  p.  88. 

4  Reinhardstoettner,  Karl  von,  Plautus,  1886,  p.  53. 

5Schelling,  Felix  E.,  Three  Unique  Eng.  Dramas.  Mod. 
Lang.  Notes.     May,  1892. 

6  Hist.  Litt.  d'  Italie,  ed.  Milan,  1S20,  VI,  passim,  and  p.  180 
sgg. 


On  the  Comedies  of  Ben  Jonson.         t>3 

English  prose,  performed  in  England  in  1566,  is  a 
translation  of  the  Suppositi  of  Ariosto. :  Dr.  Felix  E. 
Schelling  says  :  '  In  Gascoigne's  day  the  English 
drama  was  not  yet  out  of  foreign  leading-strings,  and 
the  paths  of  Seneca,  of  Ariosto,  or  of  Plautus  and 
Terence,  were  the  only  paths  in  which  its  infant  feet 
could  tread."2 

"Joachim  Greff's  Ubersetzung  der  Aulularia  des 
Plautus,  welche  als  sein  Erstlingswerk  gilt,  erschien 
im  Jahre  1535.  Sie  fiihrt  den  Titel  :  '  Eine  schone 
IyU  I  stige  Comedia  des  Poe  |  ten  PJauti  Atdularia 
ge  I  nannt,  durch  Joachinum  Greff  von  Zwickaw 
deudsch  |  gemacht  vnd  jnn  reim  |  verfasset,  fast  liis- 
tig  I  vnd  kurtzweilig  |  zu  lesen.'  "  3  A  German,  Hans 
Sachs,  wrote  the  Menaechmi  in  1548 4  ;  and  in  1563, 
the  Eunuchus.*  Of  this  writer,  Mr.  von  Reinhard- 
stoettner  says  :  "  Hans  Sachs  bearbeitete  iibrigens 
mehrere  Stiicke  nach  antiken  Vorbildern,  so  die  Elek- 
tra  des  Euripides,  den  Plutus  des  Aristophanes,  eine 
Jokaste,  eine  Klytamnestra.  Doch  kannte  er  die 
Originale  natiirlich  nicht,  sondern  arbeitete  nach 
fruheren  Ubersetzungen,  oder  wohl  auch  zum  Teil 
nach  Andeutungen,  die  er  in  andern  Schriften  ge- 
funden  haben  mochte."  6 

In  England,  a  taste  for  classical  literature  began  to  be 
generally  apparent  very  soon  after  Elizabeth  came  to 
the  throne,  and  it  produced  its  effect  upon  the  national 
drama.7    But  before  this  date  —  the  students  presented 

1  Schelling,  Felix  E.,  Three  Unique  Eng.  Dramas.  Mod. 
Lang.  Notes.    May,  1892.  2  Ibid. 

3  Reinhardstoettner,  Karl  von,  Plautus,  1886,  p.  89. 

*Ibid.,  p.  92.  5  Ibid. 

6  Ibid. 

''Ibid.,  p.  76,  Note  6.  Cf.  Collier,  J.  P.,  Hist,  of  Eng.  Dra- 
matic Poetry  and  the  Stage,  III,  p.  13. 


34  The  Influence  of  Plautus 


■/ 


the  Plautine  comedies  (possibly  in  the  Latin  language) 
before  King  Henry  VIII.,  at  Greenwich,  in  1528  ';  the 
Andria  of  Terenz,  at  Oxford  (1559)  :;  the  Aulularia 
(1564)  in  the  presence  of  Queen  Elizabeth,3  who  at 
that  time  had  honored  the  University  of  Cambridge 
with  a  royal  visit.4 

And  in  the  cloisters,  also,  the  comedies  of  Plautus 
and  Terence,  particularly,  were  performed.6  "  Robert 
Barnes,  prior  of  the  Augustines  at  Cambridge,  at  L,ou- 
vain,  with  the  assistance  of  his  scholar,  Thomas  Parnell, 
explained  within  the  walls  of  his  monastery  Plautus, 
Terence  ...  (in  1530)."  6  "  Indessen,  das  Volk 
sich  seines  Theaters  freute,  spielten  die  Studierenden 
ihre  komiker."7  Warton  says  :  "  The  scholars  of  the 
times  were  composing  and  acting  plays  on  historical 
subjects  and  in  imitation  of  Plautus  and  Terence."  * 
& '  The  learned  schoolmaster,  Udall  (1556),  provided 
amusement  for  his  boys  by  writing  comedies  after 
Plautus  and  Terence  for  them  to  perform.9 

The  times  of  Elizabeth  and  James  were  particularly 
fertile  in  L,atin  dramas  composed  at  the  Universities, 
and  these  sovereigns  were  entertained  by  the  students 
of  Oxford  and  Cambridge  with  L,atin  plays.10  "  Frei- 
lich  fehlte  es  auch  in  England  nicht  an  Agitationen 
gegen  die  klassische  Litteratur.  Um  friihere  zu  iiber- 
gehen,  miisste  man  auf  den  beriichtigten  Histriomas- 

1  Warton,  Tho.,  Hist,  of  Eng.  Poetry,  1871,  III,  289. 

2  Ibid.,  304.  s  Ibid.,  306. 

4  Ibid.,  Cf.  Shaw,  Tho.  B.,  Hist,  of  Eng.  Lit.,  London,  1878. 

5  Ibid.  ■ Ibid.,  IV,  3. 

7  Reinhardstoettner,  Karl  von,  Plautus,  1886,  p.  76. 

8  Ibid.,  Note  7. 

9  Ibid.,  Note  9.     Cf.  Collier,  J.  P.,  Hist,  of  Stage. 

10  Ibid.,  Note  6. 


On  the  Comedies  of  Ben  Jonson.         35 

tix  des  William  Prynne  hinweisen,  dessen  allgemein 
theater-feindliche  Stellung  sich  auch  gegen  die  Alten 
kehrt.  Alle  Christen,  meint  er,  hatten  dahin  zu 
wirken,  die  Verbreitung  der  heidnischen  Autoren  zu 
verhindern,  vornehmlich  '  Ovid's  wanton  Epistles  and 
Bookes  of  love,  Catullus,  Tibullus,  Propertius,  Mar- 
ti all,  the  Comedies  of  Plautus,  Terence  and  other 
such  amorous  bookes  savouring  either  of  Pagan  Gods, 
of  ethnicke  rites  and  ceremonies  or  of  scurrility,  amor- 
ousnesse  and  prophanesse.'  '  Allerdings  war  der  Ein- 
fluss  der  lateinischen  Komodiendichter  auf  die  Theater- 
entwicklung  auch  in  England  von  ganz  besonderer 
Macht,  und  nicht  mit  Unrecht  griff  darum  Prynne  auch 
diese  an."  2 

Ward  says  :  "  Comedy  sprang  more  easily  from  the 
moralities  through  the  transitional  phase  of  the  inter- 
ludes and  with  the  aid  of  the  examples  of  Plautus  and 
Terence,  and  secondarily  of  the  Italian  comic  drama- 
tists." 3  It  was  not  unusual  in  mediaeval  times  for 
religious  scholars  to  exercise  their  ingenuity  and  solace 
their  loneliness  by  converting  the  ancient  dramas  so  as 
to  represent  incidents  from  Holy  Writ.  It  would  be 
scarcely  imagined  possible,  however,  to  make  the  Am- 
phitruo  represent  the  Nativity,  and  yet,  that  is  the 
task  which  Johannes  Burmeister  (161 2)  attempted  and 
accomplished.  In  his  play,  Gabriel  speaks  the  Pro- 
logue ;  Amphitruo  becomes  Joseph  ;  Alcmena  is  the 
Virgin  ;  Mercury,  Asmodeus  ;  Sosia  alone  retains  his 
Plautine  name  ;  a  Jewish  priest  and  three  shepherds 
complete  the  dramatis  personam.  The  idea  is  ingenious, 
however  meaningless  the  production.     As  it  was  much 

'Warton,  Tho.,  Hist,  of  Eng.  Poetry,  1871,  IV,  232. 
2  Reinhardstoettner,  Karl  von,  Plautus,  1886,  p.  77. 
*Ward,  A.  W.,  A  Hist,  of  Eng.  Dramatic  Lit.  I,  p.  146. 


36  The  Influence  of  Plautus 

read  and  had  great  popularity,  it  serves  to  show  the 
influence  of  Plautus  at  this  period. 

There  are  two  MS.  copies,  in  the  British  Museum 
Library,  of  imitations  of  the  Plautine  plays  before  Ben 
Jonson's  time,  i.  e.,  1.  The  Am. — In  comincia  el  libro 
chiamato  gieta  and  birria.  In  verse,  founded  on  the 
Am.  of  Plautus,  whose  name  occurs  as  the  original 
author  of  the  story  in  the  last  stanza  but  five.  An 
additional  stanza  at  the  end  of  this  edition  states  that 
the  author  of  this  poem  was  Boccaccio,  and  the  editor 
Frate  Lorenzo  Amalagiso,  but  the  other  editions  at- 
tribute the  authorship  to  Filippo  Brunelleschi  and 
Domenico  da  Prato,  others  to  Ghigo  Brunelleschi 
(Florence  (?),  1485  (?)  ),  folio.  Another  edition  was 
printed  in  1495. '  2.  The  Rudens. — II  Roffiano,  Come- 
diay  in  five  acts  and  in  prose,  di  L.  Dolce  tratta  dal  Ru- 
dente  di  Plauto.  With  few  MS.  notes.  G.  Giolito  de 
Ferrari  e  Fratelli.     Venezia,  1551.2 

' '  Die  direkten  Nachahmer  des  Plautus  sind  in  Eng- 
land weniger,  als  anderswo  ;  unberechenbar  jedoch  ist 
der  Einfiuss,  welchen  gerade  hier  die  romischen  ko- 
miker  geiibt  haben,  zahllos  die  Szenen,  unzahlbar  die 
Stellen,  welche  die  an  ihnen  herangebildeten  Dichter 
denselben  entnommen  haben."  3  Not  only  the  learned 
Ben  Jonson  (1 574-1 637),  but  others,  also,  show  every- 
where traces  of  this  ancient  writer.  ' '  Die  Ausgaben 
der  hervorragendsten  englischen  Biihnendichter  weisen 
zahlreiche  Reminiszenzen  an  die  alten  komiker  auf. 
.  .  .  Der  Verfasser  des  Stiickes  Timon  4  ist  sehr  ver- 
traut  mit  den  L,ateinern  und  insbesondere  mit  Plautus. 

1  British  Museum  Catalogue.  2  Ibid. 

3  Reinhardstoettner,  Karl  von,  Plautus,  1886,  p.  78. 

4  Timon,  a  play.  Now  first  printed.  Ed.  by  the  Rev.  Alex- 
ander Dyce,  Shakespeare  Soc,  1842,  London. 


On  the  Comedies  of  Ben  Jonson.         37 

Die  Namen  seiner  Personen — Gelasimus,  Philargurus, 
Grunnio  —  weisen  auf  diesen  Dichter  bin  ;  eiuzelne 
Stellen  sind  ihm  wortlich  entnommen.  .  .  .  Die 
ganze  an  Erinnerungen  an  lateinische,  ja  sogar 
griechische  Autoren  reiche  Komodie  beweist,  dass  ihr 
Verfasser  '  in  Athen  wohl  zu  Hause  (ist)  ;  seine 
Hauptquelle  ist  Plautus ;  aber  aucb  Lucian  und  Aris- 
tophanes kennt  er. '  ' l  Nicholas  Udall's  Ralph  Royster  S 
D oyster,  the  earliest  English  comedy,  the  work  of  an 
Euglish  scholar,  is  directly  founded  on  the  Miles 
Gloriosus  of  Plautus."  So,  also,  is  Sir  Tophas  in  Lilly's 
EndimionS  Mr.  Ward  says,  "Sir  Tophas,  in  Endi- 
mion,  has  far  more  assuredly  a  prototype  in  the  Mi., 
of  Plautus,  than  Falstaff  has  one  in  Sir  Tophas."  4 

At  the  Tenth  Annual  Convention  of  the  Modern 
Language  Association,5  a  paper  was  read  on  "The 
Sources  of  Udall's  Roister  Doister,'"  by  Prof.  Geo. 
Heimple,  in  which  the  main  point  was,  reversing  the 
general  opinion,  that  Udall's  first  and  chief  source  was 
Terence's  Eunuchus,  and  that  the  Mi.  of  Plautus,  was 
a  secondary  source  to  fill  up  the  lacunae  left  by  the 
other.  Dr.  Bright  and  Dr.  Gudeman  were,  however, 
inclined  to  maintain  the  traditional  claims  of  Plautus 
as  the  chief  source.6 

'  Thomas  Heywood  (1582-1640)  dichtete  nach  Plau- 

1  Reinhardstoettner,  Karl  von,  Plautus,  18S6,  p.  79.  Cf.  Rapp, 
Studien,  S.  127,  128. 

2  Ward,  A.  W.,  Hist,  of  English  Dramatic  Lit.  to  the  Death 
of  Queen  Anne,  I,  140.  Cf.  Reinhardstoettner,  Karl  von,  Plau- 
tus, 1886,  p.  107.     "Roister  Doister  beruht  ganz  auf  Plautus." 

3  Reinhardstoettner,  Karl  von,  Plautus,  1886,  p.  107. 

4  Ward,  A.  W.,  Hist,  of  English  Dramatic  Lit.  to  Death  of 
Queen  Anne,  I,  154. 

6  Jan.,  1893. 

"Harrison,  Tho.,  Mod.  Lang.  Notes,  Feb.,  1893,  p.  66. 


!£G55!9 


38  The  Influence  of  Plautus 

tus  die  Sage  vom  Am.  in  seinem  The  Silver  Age  ;  er  be- 
niitzte  einen  guten  Teil  der  Mostellaria  in  seinem  The 
English  Traveller.1  Philip  Massinger  ( 1 584-1 640)  sein 
A  Very  Woman,  hat  eine  Szene  aus  dem  Cureulio."  2 
And  most  probably  A.  IV,  s.  2,  of  the  old  play  oiAlbu- 
mazar  was  borrowed  from  the  passage  in  A.  IV,  s.  3,  of 
the  Ti.3  "  Ob  in  Anthony  Munday's  John  a  Kent  and 
John  a  Cumber  (1595)  wirklich  ein  Einfluss  des  Am- 
phitruo  thatig  war,  wie  Rapp  annimmt,  ob  auf  Addi- 
son's Gespenst  mil  der  Trommel  die  Mostellaria,  auf 
Dryden's  Sir  Martin  Mar-all  die  Bacchides*  auf 
Murphy's  The  Citizen  der  Mercator  eingewirkt  hat,& 
mag  dahingestellt  bleiben."  6 

Plautus  was  to  the  dramatic  author  of  this  period 
what  the  repertory  of  the  French  stage  is  to  certain 
playwrights  in  our  day  ;  and  authors  who  possessed 
native  genius — as  Moliere,  Ben  Jonson,  Beaumont  and 
Fletcher,  Dryden,  Congreve,  and  others  did  not  hesi- 
tate to  make  use  of  plots,  scenes,  and  sentiments  from 
these  old  Latin  comedies.  "  Mit  besonderer,"  says  Mr. 
von  Reinhardstoettner,  "  Vorliebe  aber  bearbeiteten 
englische  Lustspieldichter  die  Gestalt  des  prahlerischen 
Thraso  und  Pyrgopolimces.  Voran  schreitet  Udall  mit 
seinem  Royster-Doyster,  dem  Miles  Gloriosus,  der  in 
zahlreichen  englischen  Stucken,  in  Lilly's  Endimion, 
Chapman's  May-day,  Beaumont  and  Fletcher's  A  King 
and  No  King  und  The  Custom  qj  Country,  in  W.  Con- 

1  Reinhardstoettner,  Karl  von,  Plautus,  1886,  p.  78. 

2  Ibid.,  p.  80. 

3Rolfe,  ed.  of  Shakespeare,  Taming  of  the  Shrew,  Notes. 
(Albumazar  by  Tomkins  ?) 

4Ussing,  J.  L,.,  Titi  Macci  Plauti  Comoedie,  recensuit  et 
enarravit,  B.d.  II,  S.  370. 

sRapp,  Studien,  S.  170. 

6  Reinhardstoettner,  Karl  von,  Plautus,  1886,  p.  80. 


On  the  Comedies  of  Ben  Jonson.         39 

greve's  Old  Batchelor  und  vielen  andern  eine  hervorra- 
gende  Rolle  spielt,  der  Verbreitung,  die  er  als  Bobadill 
des  Ben  Jonson,  und  der  Verklarung,  die  er  als  John 
Falstaff  bei  Shakespeare  samt  seinem  Gefolge  erreicht, 
nicht  zu  gedenken. '  Thomas  Middleton  (gest.  1628)  hat 
zu  seinem  No  Wit  Like  a  Woman's  beim  Epidicus  des 
Plautus  geborgt.2  John  Dryden  (1631-1700)  ahmte  den 
Amphitruo  nach,  welchen  spater  Hawkesworth  iiber- 
arbeitete."3  But  Dryden 's  comedy  is  stilted,  and  he  was 
justly  apprehensive,  when,  after  acknowledging  in  his 
preface  his  obligations  to  Plautus  and  Moliere,  he  says : 

'  I  am  afraid  the  world  will  too  easily  discover  that 
more  than  half  of  it  is  wine. ' '  It  remained  a  stock  piece 
on  the  stage  for  a  long  time  toward  the  close  of  the 
seventeenth  century.  ' '  Shad  well's  Miser,  sowie  Henry 
Fielding's  (1707-1754)  The  Miser  verdanken  ihre  Ent- 
stehung  weniger  der  Aulularia  als  Moliere' s  Avare.* 
.  .  .  Im  Jahre  1672  erschien  The  Miser:  a  Comedy 
acted  by  His  Majesty's  Servants,  at  the  Theatre  Royal. 
Written  by  Thomas  Shadwell.5  In  dem  preface  erklart 
er  seine  Abhangigkeit  von  Moliere  mit  folgenden 
Worten  :  '  The  foundation  of  this  play  I  took  from 
one  of  Moliere' s  called  L'Avare,  but  that  having  too 
few  persons,  and  too  little  action  for  an  English  Theatre, 
I  added  to  both  so  much  that  I  may  call  more  than 
half  of  this  play  my  own.'  "  6     Halliwell 7  says  of  this: 

'  By  the  author's  own  confession  (it)  is  founded  on  the 
Avare  of  Moliere,  which  is  itself  also  builded  on  the 
Aulularia  of  Plautus.  Shadwell,  however,  has  by  no 
means  been   a  mere  translator,    but  has  also  added 

1  Reinhardstoettner,  Karl  von,  Plautus,  1886,  p.  81. 

2  Ibid.,  p.  80.  5  Ibid.,  p.  306. 

3  Ibid.,  p.  79.  6  Ibid. 

4 Ibid.  'Halliwell,  S.  171. 


4-0  The  Influence  of  Plautus 

considerably  to  his  original." '  Wycherly's  Miser  (ij  52) 
is  likewise  founded  on  these  two  pla3'S  of  Moliere  and 
Plautus.  ' '  Sowie  auch  des  letzteren  Vaudeville,  The 
Intriguing  Chambermaid  zwar  der  Stoff  der  Mostellaria 
ist,  jedoch  zunachst  auf  Regnard  beruht. "  2  In  this  com- 
edy few  other  changes  were  made  than  was  necessary 
to  accommodate  to  modern  times.  The  entertainment, 
the  old  gentleman's  return  from  a  voyage,  the  driving 
him  off  from  surprising  the  company  within  his  own 
house  by  making  him  believe  it  was  haunted,  the  pre- 
tending the  young  son  had  purchased  another  instead, 
are  introduced  with  little  variation.  Ben  Jonson,  Reg- 
nard, Addison  and  others  have  imitated  the  Mostellaria. 
The  most  interesting  of  the  adaptations  of  the  Plau- 
tine  plays  is  offered  in  the  history  of  the  Menaechmi. 
It  suggested  to  Rotrou  his  Les  Menechmes  (1636),  and 
from  this  it  is  said  Picard  (1 769-1 828)  derived  his  play 
of  E?icore  des  Menechmes,  turned  into  German  by  Schil- 
ler in  his  Neffe  als  Onkel  (1803).3  How  far  Shake- 
speare was  acquainted  with  the  plays  of  Plautus  and 
Terence,  we  do  not  know.  ' '  Wahrend  die  einen  hart- 
nackig  dem  grossen  Dichter  die  Fahigkeit  absprechen, 
die  antiken  komiker  zu  lesen,  suchen  und  finden  andere 
bei  ihm  zahlreiche  Stellen,  welche  eine  kenntniss  des 
Plautus  und  Terenz  beweisen  sollen.4  Shakespeare 
hat  in  seinem  L,ustspiele  the  Comedy  of  Errors — gleich- 
viel,  woher  er  den  Stoff  schdpfte."  6  The  Comedy  of 
Errors  may  be  presumed  from  an  allusion  it  contains 
to  have  been  written  before  1594.  It  is  founded  on  a 
subject  which  furnishes  two  comedies  of  Plautus,  the 

1  Reinhardstoettner,  Karl  von,  Plautus,  1886,  p.  306,  Note  2. 

2  Ibid.,  p.  79. 

3 Ibid.,  p.  567.     Cf.  National  Quarterly,  Vol.  34,  p.  72. 

4  Ibid.,  p.  78. 

5  Ibid.     Cf.  Cruttwell,  Hist,  of  Rom.  Lit.,  1886,  p.  45. 


On  the  Comedies  of  Ben  Jonson.        41 

translation  from  one  of  which,  i.  e.,  the  Mn.,  was  repre- 
sented in  Italy  as  early  as  1508,  and,  as  Mr.  Collier 
thinks,  may  have  been  brought  upon  the  stage  in 
England  at  an  early  date.  The  first  known  transla- 
tion of  the  Mn.  into  English  was  made  in  1595,  by 
W.  W.  (supposed  to  be  William  Warner).  Eondon. 
Printed  by  Tho.  Creede.1  ' '  Mr.  G.  Col  man,2  der  Uber- 
setzer  des  Terenz  (1765)  aussert  sich  hieriiber  :  '  Be- 
sides the  resemblance  of  particular  passages,  scattered 
up  and  down  in  different  plays,  it  is  well  known  that 
the  whole  Comedy  of  Errors  is  in  great  measure  founded 
on  the  Mn.  of  Plautus  ;  but  I  do  not  recollect  ever  to 
have  seen  it  observed,  that  the  disguise  of  the  Pedant 
in  the  Taming  of  the  Shrew,  his  assuming  the  name 
and  character  of  Vincentio,  together  with  his  encoun- 
tering the  real  Vincentio,  seem  to  be  evidently  taken 
from  the  disguise  of  the  Sycophanta  in  the  Ti.  of  the 
same  author.'  "  3  But  this  disguise  may  have  been  in 
the  work  of  the  author  of  the  old  play,  which  Shake- 
speare improved.4  ' '  There  is  a  quotation  from  the  Eu- 
nuch of  Terence  also,  so  familiarly  introduced  into  the 
dialogue  of  the  Taming  of  the  Shrew,  that  I  think  it  puts 
the  question  of  Shakespeare  having  read  the  Roman 
comick  poets  in  the  original  language  out  of  all  doubt. 

'  Tranio :  Master,  it  is  no  time  to  chide  you  now.  Affection 
is  not  rated  from  the  heart.  If  love  hath  touched  you,  nought 
remains  but  so.' 

Redime  te  captum  quam  queas  minimo."  5 

The  Comedy  of  Errors  has  been  made  more  intricate 

1  Reinhardstoettner,  Karl  von,  Plautus,  1886,  p.  568,  Note  3. 
Cf.  Fanner,  Essay  on  the  Learning  of  Shakespeare,  S.  33. 
2Colman,  G.,  Ubersetzer  des  Terenz,  XXI. 

3  Reinhardstoettner,  Karl  von,  Plautus,  1886,  p.  78,  Note  2. 

4  Quarterly  Review,  Vol.  173,  p.  47,  1891. 

5  Reinhardstoettner,  Karl  von,  Plautus,  1886,  p.  78,  Note  2. 


42  The  Influence  of  Plautus 

than  the  Mn.  in  plot,  by  the  introduction  of  a  double 
for  the  slave  as  well  as  for  the  master.  Shakespeare 
may  have  taken  this  idea  from  the  double  of  Sosia  in 
the  Am.  The  situations  in  the  Plautine  play,  being 
admirably  conceived  and  carried  out,  have  often  been 
imitated.  "  Die  erste  beginnt  Shakespeare  mit  der 
Comedy  of  Errors;  ihm  folgt  Regnard  mit  den  Jumeaux, 
und  Goldoni  mit  den  Gemelli  Veneziani,  wahrend  aus 
Farquhar's  The  Twin  Rivals  des  Voltairesche  &  enfant 
Prodigue,  und  die  Schillerschen  Rauber  abfliessen."  ' 
Shakespeare  was  so  well  pleased  with  the  idea  that  he 
returned  to  it  in  The  Twelfth  Night.  But  the  part  of 
Sebastian  in  Twelfth  Night  has  all  the  improbability 
which  belongs  to  mistaken  identity,  without  the  comic 
effect  in  Plautus  and  the  Comedy  of  Errors.  The  situ- 
ation of  the  steward,  also,  in  As.  1.  407,  is  something 
like  that  of  Malvolio  in  Twelfth  Night. 

The  opening  scene  of  the  Rtidens  has  been  frequently 
compared  to  that  of  Shakespeare's  Tempest,  although  it 
has  been  claimed  that  Shakespeare  drew  his  description 
from  Ariosto.2  "  Prospero's  command  to  Ariel '  to  fetch 
dew  from  the  still-vex' d  Bermoothes  '  makes  it  certain 
that  the  Bermudas  are  not  the  scene  of  The  Tempest, 
though,  strangely  enough,  it  has  produced  the  contrary 
impression  on  many  minds  ;  but  this  reference  to  these 
islands,  and  allusion  to  their  storm-vexed  coast,  con- 
nects itself  naturally  with  the  publication  of  Jourdan's 3 
narrative."  4     No  one  can  carefully  read  the  Rudens, 

1  Reinhardstoettner,  Karl  von,  Plautus,  1886,  p.  577. 

2  National  Quarterly,  Vol.  34,  p.  72. 

3  A  Discovery  of  the  Bermudas,  otherwise  called  the  lie  of 
Divels  :  by  Sir  Tho.  Gates,  Sir  Geo.  Sommers,  and  Captayne 
Newport,  with  divers  others.     London,  1610. 

4Rolfe,  Wm.J.,  Introduction  to  his  ed.  of  The  Tempest,  by 
Wm.  Shakespeare,  p.  9. 


On  the  Comedies  of  Ben  Jonson.         43 

without  being  impressed  with  the  similarity  of  the  exile 
Daemones  to  the  exile  Prospero  in  Shakespeare's  play. 
Take  for  instance,  11.  2-7  of  the  Rudens,  and  note  the 
similarity  in  the  reflection  of  Ferdinand,  beginning 
with  the  words,  "  There  be  some  sports  are  painful, 
etc."  The  same  comedy  may  have  furnished  more 
than  one  hint  to  the  author  or  authors  of  Pericles.  In 
A.  I,  s.  2  (11.  133-252)  of  the  Ps.,  where  Ballio  is  ad- 
dressing his  slaves,  we  have  a  noticeable  parallel  to 
Shakespeare's  Pericles,  A.  IV.1  The  Ps.  was  presented 
before  Roman  audiences,  of  the  Augustan  Age,  more 
frequently  than  any  other  play.  The  character  of  Bal- 
lio seems  to  have  been  as  well  known  to  Cicero  and 
his  circle,  as  Shylock  or  Macbeth  to  a  London  audience 
of  our  day.  Cicero,  when  describing  an  abandoned 
ruffian  whose  hideous  features  reflected  his  bold  de- 
pravity, seeks  a  comparison  in  Ballio.2  This  comedy 
has  frequently  been  imitated  by  modern  playwrights, 
e.  g.,  the  Italian  Battista  Porta  in  La  Trappolaria. 
Moliere  drew  largely  on  this  play  for  L1  Etourdi,  as 
also  Regnard  for  La  Serenade;  and  the  Diderich 
Menschenschreck  of  Holberg  is  largely  derived  from  the 
same  source.3 

' '  Was  sich  bei  den  Englandern  an  Nachahmungen 
der  Aulularia  findet,  ist  durch  Moliere' s  Avare  veran- 
lasst,  nick  direkt  aus  Plautus  geschopft  worden."  4 
This  is  plainly  disproved  both  by  Shakespeare's  and 
Ben  Jonson' s  plays.      Shylock  is  in  some    respects 

JAnden,  H.  W.,  The  Pseudolus  of  Plautus.  Introd.  and 
Notes,  1896. 

J  Cicero,  Cato  Mai.,  XIV,  50. 

3Auden,  H.  W.,  The  Pseudolus  of  Plautus.  Introd.  and 
Notes,  1896. 

4  Reinhardstoettner,  Karl  von,  Plautus,  1S86,  p.  306. 


44  The  Influence  of  Plautus 

copied,  apparently  from  Euclio  in  the  Au.  Mr.  von 
Reinhardstoettner  has  omitted  all  notice  of  the  fact  that 
Shakespeare  when  he  drew  Shylock  had  either  heard 
or  read  of  Buclio.  Both  misers  lose  a  daughter  and 
are  robbed  of  their  money,  and  lament  their  loss  in 
agitated  and  exaggerated  terms.  Compare  the  speech 
of  Euclio  beginning,  Peril,  interii,  occidi,  1.  713,  with 
the  account  given  by  Salanio  of  Shylock  lamenting 
over  his  ducats  ;  or  Shylock's  own  words,  beginning, 
' '  There  !  there,  there  !  there  !  ' '  The  spirit  is  so  like 
as  to  produce  conviction  that  there  is  imitation  here. : 
Note  the  similarity  also  in  the  following  : 

MEG.     .     .     .    lapides  loqueris.2 

"I  will  speak  daggers  to  her,  but  use  none."  3 

"She  speaks  poniards."  4 

Pod  a  fx  Eiprji.ia<C  =  "  you  have  spoken  roses  at  me."  6 

And  again  : 

Quam  orationem  hanc  aures  dulcem  dduorant.6 
"  And  with  a  greedy  ear 
Devour  up  my  discourse."  1 

Rosalind,  in  Shakespeare's  As  You  Like  It  (A.  V,  s. 
2),  says  :  "  O,  I  know  where  you  are  :  nay,  'tis  true  ; 
there  was  never  anything  so  sudden  but  the  fight  of 
two  rams  and  Caesar's  thraso?iical  brag  of  '  I  came, 

1  Quarterly  Review,  Vol.  173,  p.  58,  1891. 

2  Plautus,  Au.,  11.  151,  152. 

3  Shakespeare,  Wm.,  Hamlet,  A.  Ill,  s.  7. 

4  Ibid.,  Much  Ado  About  Nothing,  A.  II,  s.  4. 

6  Aristophanes.  Cf.  Riley,  Tr.  of  Plautine  Comedies,  Note  I, 
1S52,  p.  381.  Cf.  Plautus,  Tr.  into  Familiar  Blank  Verse,  by 
Bonnell  Thornton,  Notes. 

6  Plautus,  Au.,  1.  968. 

7  Shakespeare,  Wm.,  Othello. 


On  the  Comedies  of  Ben  Jonson.        45 

saw,  and  overcame. '  ' '  Thrasonical  is  an  adjective  from 
the  bragging  soldier  of  Terence's  Eunuchus.  Rolfe 
says,  however,  "It  is  not  necessary  to  suppose  that 
Shakespeare  had  read  Terence,  for  the  word  was  al- 
ready in  use."  '  Mr.  Bonnell  Thornton,  quoting  from 
Colman,  says  :  "  There  is  a  passage  in  Shakespeare, 
so  extremely  like  the  following,  that  I  can  scarce  think 
it  possible,  but  that  justly  admired  dramatick  writer 
must  have  had  his  eye  upon  it "  2  : 

EV.     Quin  tu  istas  omittis  nugas  ac  ruecum  hue  intro  dmbulas  ? 
CHA.     H6spes  respondit  Zacynthi  ficos  fieri  non  malas. 
<EV.>     Nil    mentitust.     CHA.     Sed  de    arnica    se    ltidau- 
di(u)isse  autuma(n)t 
Hie  Athenis  £sse.3 

The  passage  referred  to  is  the  colloquy  between 
Prince  Henry  and  Falstaff,  in  I  Henry  IV.,  A.  I,  s.  2. 
The  following,  from  the  B.,  1.  699,  is  very  similar  to 
lines  in  the  Taming  of  the  Shrew  : 

MN.     Si  tu  ilium  solem  sibi  solem  esse  diceres, 
Se  ilium  lunam  credere  esse  et  n6ctem  qui  nunc  est  dies. 

The  Merry  Wives  of  Windsor  owes  something  to  the 
Miles  Gloriosns.  It  seems  unquestionable  that  Shake- 
speare knew  of  the  Mi.  when  he  conceived  this  play. 
Besides  Falstaff,4  he  may  have  been  influenced  to  some 
extent  by  the  ancient  type  in  drawing  Arnado,  Pa- 
rolles,6  and  Pistol.     Were  it  not  for  the  resemblance, 

1  Rolfe,  ed.  of  Shakespeare,  As  You  Like  It,  Notes. 

2  Plautus,  Tr.  into  Familiar  Blank  Verse,  by  Bonnell  Thorn- 
ton, Notes,  p.  197. 

3  Plautus,  Mercator,  1.  942  sqq. 

4  Reinhardstoettner,  Karl  von,  Plautus,  1886,  p.  81.  Cf.  p. 
672  sq. 

5 Ibid.,  p.  673. 


46  The  Influence  of  Plautus 

however,  which  exists  between  the  two  plays  as  a 
whole,  it  might  be  doubted  whether  Falstaff  of  Henry 
IV.  were  even  in  the  remotest  degree  inspired  by  Pyr- 
gopolinices.  In  The  Merry  Wives  of  Windsor,  on  the 
other  hand,  the  imitation  is  palpable.1  Shakespeare 
had  considerable  opportunity  of  becoming  acquainted 
with  Plautus  and  Terence.  We  have  seen  that  plays 
of  Plautus  and  Terence  were  acted  in  Shakespeare's 
time  in  colleges,  theatres  and  private  houses,  and  that 
it  is  an  historical  fact.  Warton  (III,  309)  says  :  "  I 
believe,  the  frequency  of  these  school-plays  suggested 
the  names  of  Seneca  and  Plautus  as  dramatic  authors." 
When  Polonius  says,  ' '  Seneca  cannot  be  too  heavy,  nor 
Plautus  too  light,"  2  he  implies  that  the  works  of  these 
authors  were  stock  pieces  for  representation.  Occa- 
sional striking  resemblances  in  expression  tend  in  the 
same  direction,  and  we  may  instance  one  passage  where 
the  similarity  is  especially  noticeable.  When  Hamlet 
says  to  his  mother,  ' '  Assume  a  virtue  if  you  have  it 
not,"  he  is  repeating  almost  literally  the  precept  of 
Amphitruo  to  Alcmena  : 

Saltern,  tute  si  pudoris  egeas,  sumas  mutuom.3 

Here  the  resemblance  is  so  precise,  and  the  intro- 
duction in  each  case  so  similar,  that  Shakespeare  must 
have  had  the  Plautine  verse  in  mind.  And  why  not  ? 
Is  it  improbable  that  Shakespeare,  who  must  have 
been  brought  constantly  in  contact  with  the  mention 
of  the  Plautine  comedies,  should  ever  have  had  the 
desire  and  industry  to  find  out  for  himself  what  the 

1  Reinhardstoettner,  Karl  von,  Plautus,  1886,  pp.  78  and  673. 

2  Shakespeare,  Wm.,  Hamlet,  A.  II,  s.  2.  Cf.  Reinhardstoett- 
ner, Karl  von,  Plautus,  1886,  p.  77,  Note  4. 

3  Plautus,  Amphitruo,  1.  819. 


On  the  Comedies  of  Ben  Jonson.        47 

Roman  poet  was  worth  ?  That  he  "  had  small  Latin 
and  less  Greek,"  as  Ben  Jonson  claimed,  means  that  he 
had  some  Latin,  and  apparently  sufficient  to  give  him 
a  knowledge  of  the  Plautine  comedies,  as  his  imitations 
show.  But  if  these  isolated  passages  prove  nothing, 
there  remains  the  internal  evidence,  which,  to  a  sensi- 
tive mind,  will  doubtless  outweigh  any  external  im- 
probability. If  his  knowledge  was  insufficient  and 
training  was  lacking,  it  is  not  inconceivable  that  he 
should  apply  to  Ben  Jonson  for  aid.  The  most  prob- 
able hypothesis,  however,  seems  to  be  that  W.  W. 
(Wm.  Warner)  had  translated  all  the  plays  of  Plautus 
by  1595,  although  he  had  published  only  the  Mn.,  and 
that  Shakespeare  had  access  to  the  MSS.  The  conclu- 
sion must  be  that  Shakespeare  was  acquainted  with 
the  writings  of  Plautus,  but  not  intimately ;  and  that 
after  the  Comedy  of  Errors,  he  preferred  to  draw  his 
plots  from  a  broader  field.  This  is  not  the  case,  how- 
ever, with  some  of  his  characters,  situations  and  ex- 
pressions, where  the  resemblance  is  too  close  and 
frequent  to  be  the  result  of  coincidence.  Still  more 
convincing  is  the  similarity  between  the  humor  of  the 
two  poets,  and  yet  Shakespeare  cannot  properly  be 
styled  a  direct  imitator  of  Plautus,  as  Ben  Jonson  is, 
for  the  proportion  of  Plautine  ideas  in  Shakespeare  re- 
mains trivial.  They  are  only  the  leaven  unavoidably 
perhaps,  and  unconsciously  assimilated  by  the  poet. 
The  imitation  is  not  the  essential  thing,  or  if  it  is,  it 
has  been  so  changed  and  improved  in  the  resetting  that 
the  appropriation  is  overlooked.  Where  Plautus  is 
simply  amusing,  Shakespeare  is  both  amusing  and 
suggestive. ' 

We  may  get  a  fair  idea  of  a  Plautine  comedy  from 

■Plautus  and  Terence,  National  Quarterly,  Vol.  34,  p.  71. 


48  The  Influence  of  Plautus 

the  V Etourdi  of  Moliere,  where  the  main  idea  of  the 
chief  character  is  furnished  by  the  Bacchides.  Moliere's 
play  would  have  furnished  arguments  for  several  Plau- 
tiue  comedies,  but  the  conception  and  carrying  out  are 
quite  Plautine.  Not  only  the  B.  and  Ps.,  but  the  Po., 
Cp.,  and  E.,  are  laid  under  contribution  in  the 
L"  Etourdi.  Besides  the  imitation  just  noted,  the 
disguise  of  the  Armenian  is  copied  from  the  Po.  Al- 
though Moliere's  humor  seldom  equals  that  of  the 
Plautine  comedies,  he  excels  in  these  lines  : 

"  C'est  que  dans  tous  les  mots  ils  changent  nis  en  tin  ; 
Et  pour  dire  Tunis,  ils  prononcent  Turin." 

Moliere  also  borrowed  from  Plautus  two  familiar 
comedies,  i.  e.,  the  L'Avare  and  the  Amphitruo. 
From  the  Am.  Rotrou  also  derived  his  Les  deux  Sosia. 
Mr.  Drummond  says  of  Ben  Jonson,  "  that  he  had  an 
intention  to  have  made  a  play  like  Plautus'  Am., 
but  left  it  off,  for  that  he  could  never  find  two  so  like 
one  to  the  other  that  he  could  persuade  the  spectator 
that  they  were  one."  '  "  Indessen  fehlt  es  nicht  an 
vollstandigen  Durchfuhrungen  des  Amphitruo  in  Eng- 
land. Ben  Jonson  hatte  die  Idee,  einen  Amphitruo  zu 
schreiben  ;  gab  sie  jedoch  auf,  weil  er  an  der  Mog- 
lichkeit,  sie  wahrscheinlich  zu  gestalten,  verzwei- 
felte."8 

The  Plautine  plots  are  so  simple  that  his  imitators 
frequently  err  and  overload  them  with  new  material. 
Then,  too,  the  easy  and  natural  dialogue  of  these  com- 
edies is  deceptive.  The  question  of  the  relative  supe- 
riority of  the  Am.  of  Moliere  and  Plautus  has  often 

1  Drummond,  Wm.,  Conversations  with  Ben  Jonson,  Shake- 
speare Soc.  Pub . 

2  Reinhardstoettner,  Karl  von,  Plautus,  1886,  p.  193. 


On  the  Comedies  of  Ben  Jonson.        49 

been  debated.1  In  the  former  the  fine  Grecian  tone  is 
naturally  wanting,  and  he  has  frequently  degenerated 
from  his  original.  There  are  no  fine  lines  describing 
the  perfection  of  a  wife  such  as  the  following  : 

AL.  Non  ego  illam  mihi  dotem  duco  esse,  quae  dos  dicitur, 
Sed  pudicitiam  et  pudorem  et  sedatum  cupidinem, 
Deum  metum,  parentum  amorem  et  c6gnatum  coucdrdiam, 
Tibi  morigera  atque  ut  munifica  sim  bonis,  prosim  probis.2 

Sellar  thinks  this  ' '  is  the  noblest  realization  of  the 
virtue  of  womanhood  to  be  found  in  ancient  litera- 
ture." In  the  L'Avare,  Moliere  has  greatly  improved 
on  his  model  in  parts.  But  good  as  it  is,  it  is  doubtful 
whether  it  is  the  best  modern  imitation  of  the  Latin 
comedy.  The  palm  is  contested  by  the  Warenar  of 
Hooft.3  Such  critics  as  Hugo  de  Groot  and  James 
Brockhousius,  and  the  poet  Vondel,  extol  the  strong 
homespun  of  the  Dutch  play  as  surpassing  its  original 
in  merit. 

1  Reinhardstoettner,  Karl  voti,  Plautus,  1886,  p.  182. 

2  Plautus,  Amphitruo,  11.  839-842. 

3  Reinhardstoettuer,  Karl  von,  Plautus,  1886,  p.  298. 


IV. 


DIRECT  INFLUENCE  ON  THE   COMEDIES  OF  BEN 

JONSON. 

"  \  A  TE  have  splendid  tragedies,  we  have  the  most 
V  V  beautiful  of  poetic  plays,  and  we  have  lit- 
erary comedies  passingly  pleasant  to  read, ' '  says  Mr. 
George  Meredith,  "  comedies  of  classic  inspiration, 
drawn  chiefly  from  Menander,  and  the  Greek  New 
Comedy,  through  Terence  (and  Plautus  ?)  ;  or  else 
comedies  of  the  poet's  personal  conception,  that  have 
had  no  model  in  life,  and  are  humorous  exaggerations, 
happy  or  otherwise.  These  are  the  comedies  of  Ben 
Jonson,  Massinger,  and  Fletcher."  ' 

With  the  ancient  comedians  for  his  models,  Ben 
Jonson,  in  writing  plays,  endeavored  to  bring  the  Eng- 
lish stage  into  conformity  with  their  rules.  ' '  The  theo- 
ries, ' '  says  Dr.  Schelling,  ' '  which  Ben  Jonson  held 
about  literature,  were  those  of  a  classicist.  He  believed 
in  the  criticism  of  Horace,  and  the  rhetoric  of  Quintil- 
ian.  ...  He  believed  that  the  English  Drama 
should  follow  the  example  of  the  tietus  comoedie.''1  2 
The  rules,  laid  down  by  him  in  the  preface  to  The  Al- 
chemist, did  not  immediately  gain  favor.  Romantic  ten- 
dencies were  in  the  ascendenc}%  and  it  was  considered 
that  Jonson  had  overestimated  the  classical  side  of  art. 

1  Meredith,  Geo.,  An  Essay  on  Comedy  and  The  Uses  of  The 
Comic  Spirit. 

2  Schelling,  Felix  E.,  Ph.D.,  Ben  Jonson  and  the  Classical 
School. 

50 


Influence  of  Plautus  on  Ben  Jonson.      51 

The  comedy^)fjn^nnej^_whicli Jie  derived  from  an- 
tique models,  brought  fixer!   types  of  rhara.pt.er,  rather 
than-  indiyiduaha-iiitQ-plajv-and ...  in_-this .  respect-iie-may 
be  regarde_cLas._p3Ying  rl  merged  most _  radically  from-  ^e — 
theL^iriLof  _t^  Jonson  starts 

with  the  character  when  it  is  fully  formed,  and  at  the 
moment  when  th^,  controlling passion-  Js_  dominating 
the  individual  ;  when^Jthe, character  is  absorbed  in  its 
particular  humor.  Jonson  conceived  humor,  first  taken 
in  its  narrower  sense  of  personal  temperament,  and 
later  applied  to  the  wider  sphere  of  social  manners,  to 
be  the  proper  medium  for  the  comic  playwright. 

Pha.  And  then,  I  to  have  a  book  made  of  all  this,  which  I 
would  call  the  "  Book  of  Humours,"  and  every  night,  read  a 
little  piece  ere  I  slept,  and  laugh  at  it. x 

His  idea  of  comedy  was  identical  with  Cicero's  ;  he 
believed  that  a  comedy  should  be  an  iynitatio  vitae, 
speculum  consuetudi?iis,  imago  veritatis.  Jonson  ever 
delighted 

"  To  laugh  and  chuck 
At  the  variety  and  throng  of  humours 
And  dispositions,  that  come  jostling  in 
And  out  still." 

Hisxoniic  genius  is  a  genius  of  caricature  and  exag- 
geration.; "  his  wit  is  admirable,  laughable,  laudable, 
but  not  altogether  delightful."  2  It  was  not  for  the 
amusement  of  the  Court  that  Jonson  wrote  his  come- 
dies. For  that  the  Masques  and  Entertainments  were 
written,  which,  as  Mr.  Meredith  says,  "  are  dearer  to 
the  rabble  upper,  as  to  the  rabble  lower  class,  than 

jonson,  Ben,  Cynthia's  Revels,  A.  IV,  s.  i. 

2  Swinburne,  Algernon  Charles,  A  Study  of  Ben  Jonson,  1889. 


52  The  Influence  of  Plautus 

intellectual  comedy."  '  The  comic  of  Jonson's  genius 
is  the  scholar's  idea  of  the  comic,  and  not  the  moral- 
ist's. His  keen,  incisive  wit  takes  the  form  of  con- 
structive mirth,  and  unsparing  caricature.  He  employs 
the  same  colors  again  and  again,  without  relief  or  vari- 
et}r,  and  yet  his  comic  art  embraces  all  forms  and 
variety  of  comedy,  ranging  from  the  highest  and  most 
delicate  to  the  lowest  and  most  farcical. 

"  Morose,"  says  Mr.  Swinburne,  "as  a  victimized 
monomaniac,  is  rather  a  figure  of  farce  than  of  comedy  ; 
Captain  Otter  and  his  termigant  (conceptions  taken 
from  the  Plautine  fables)  are  characters  of  comedy 
rather  broad  than  high  ;  .  .  .  but  the  collegiate 
ladies  .  .  .  recall  rather  the  comedies  than  the 
farces  of  Moliere."  2 

Jonson  had  unlimited  powers  of  imagining  ludicrous 
situations,   and  of  painting   from   the   vulgar   model. 
L^ke  Plautus  he  is  frequentty  bluntly  truthful.     Doll's  5 
Newgate  slang),   equalled  by  the  Bowery  billingsgate 

^:  of~Sosia  and  of  Sosia  Mercury,  in  the  Amphitruo,  is  a 
faithful  transcript  from  the  lower  life.     L/ikeJthe_cJiar- 

J  acters_in jthe_ JBlau±in£^J^lesJ_J^n^Qn.'.a  .greatest  crea- 
tions  are  cheats  or  dupes  ;  the  greatest  dupe  being  Sir 
Epicure  Mammon,  and  the  greatest  cheat,  Volpone. 
With  the  spirit  of  the  old  comedian,  Jonson  only  too 
frequently  ends  a  contest  of  mind  by  blows  with  the 
fists,  which  silence  if  they  do  not  convince. 

It  is  to  be  regretted  that  the  influence  of  Plautus  on 
the  style  and  method  of  Jonson  was  not  more  perma- 
nent.3    No  poet  of  his  age  came  near  to  him  in  the 

1  Meredith,  Geo.,  An  Essay  on  Comedy  and  The  Uses  of  The 
Comic  Spirit,  p.  16. 

2  Swinburne,  Algernon  Charles,  A  Study  of  Ben  Jonson,  1889, 
p.  11.  Ibid. 


On  the  Comedies  of  Ben  Jonson.         53 

strong  conviction  of  the  gravity  of  his  vocation.  He 
believed  that  the  playwright  had  a  serious  duty  to  dis- 
charge ;  that  the  dramatic  poet  must  aim  at  instruction, 
as  well  as  at  delight.  He  continuously  sacrificed  subor- 
dinate considerations  to  the  aesthetic  end  of  dramatic 
art, — the  dramatic  effect.1 

"The  end  of  all,  who  for  the  scene  do  write, 
Are,  or  should  be,  to  profit  and  delight."  2 

The  suffrage  of  the  people  must  be  conquered,  and 
dramas  should  ' '  be  written  not  to  charm  the  popular 
ear,  but  to  educate  it. "  3 

"For  —  to  present  all  custard,  or  all  tart, 
And  have  no  other  meat  to  bear  a  part, 
Or  to  want  bread  and  salt,  were  but  coarse  art."  4 

In  the  two  comedies,  Every  Man  Out  of  His  Hu- 
mour (1599),  and  The  Magnetic  Lady  (1632),  the  one 
written  at  the  opening  of  his  career,  the  other  near  its 
close,  Jonson  thus  makes  mention  of  Plautus  : 

Cor.  Ay  !  what  think  you  of  Plautus,  in  his  comedy  called 
Cistellaria  f  There,  where  he  brings  in  Alcesimarchus  with  a 
drawn  sword  ready  to  kill  himself  .  .  .  ?  Is  not  his  authority 
of  power  to  give  our  scene  approbation  ? 

Mit.  Sir,  I  have  this  only  evasion  left  me,  to  say,  I  think  it 
be  so  indeed :  your  memory  is  happier  than  mine.5 

Mad.  .  .  .  marry,  I  will  not  do  as  Plautus  in  his  Am- 
phitruo,  for  all  this,  sumtni  Jovis  causA  plaudite  ;  beg  a  plau- 
dit for  God's  sake ;  but  if  you,  out  of  the  bounty  of  your  good 

1  Swinburne,  Algernon  Charles,  A  Study  of  Ben  Jonson,  1889. 

2  Jonson,  Ben,  Prologue  to  The  Silent  Woman. 
*Symonds,  J.  A.,  Ben  Jonson,  1888. 

4 Jonson,  Ben,  Prologue  to  The  Silent  Woman. 

*  Ibid.,  Every  Man  Out  of  His  Humour,  A.  Ill,  s.  2. 


54  The  Influence  of  Plautus 

liking,  will  bestow  it,  why,  you  may  in  time  make  lean  Maci- 
lente  as  fat  as  Sir  John  Falstaff. 

Dam.  But  whom  doth  your  poet  mean  now  by  this  master 
Bias  ?  what  lord's  secretary  doth  he  purpose  to  personate  or 
perstringe  ? 

Pro.  .  .  .  It  is  an  insidious  question,  brother  Damplay  : 
iniquity  itself  would  not  have  urged  it.  It  is  picking  the  lock 
of  the  scene,  not  opening  it  the  fair  way  with  a  key.  A  play, 
though  it  apparel  and  present  vices  in  general,  flies  from  all 
particularities  in  persons.  Would  you  ask  of  Plautus,  and 
Terence,  if  they  both  lived  now,  who  were  Davus  or  Pseudolus 
in  the  scene,  who  Pyrgopolinices  or  Thraso  ?  who  Euclio  or 
Menedemus  ? ' 

Dam.  You  have  heard,  boy,  the  ancient  poets  had  it  in  their 
purpose,  still  to  please  the  people. 

Pro.     Ay,  their  chief  aim  was — 

Dam.     Populo  tit  placerent :  if  he  understands  so  much, — 

Boy.  Quas  fecissent  fabulas.  —  I  understand  that  since  I 
learned  Terence,  in  the  third  form  at  Westminster  :  go  on,  Sir.2 

This  is  evidence  sufficient  to  prove  that  Jonson  was 
familiar  with  the  plays  of  Plautus,  either  in  the  original 
or  through  translations,  and  that  he  looked  upon  him 
as  a  guide  ;  indeed,  it  is  quite  evident  that  he  had 
Plautus  continually  in  view,  and  even  his  most  comic 
character,  Captain  Bobadill,  is  in  its  ideal  only  a  more 
tasteful,  moderate,  and  inventive  imitation  of  the  ex- 
travagant Miles  Gloriosus. 

If  Plautus  had  never  done  anything  more  than  to 
suggest  the  outline  for  a  play  which  gave  to  the  world 
Sir  Hugh  Evans,  Dr.  Caius,  mine  host  of  The  Garter, 
and  Master  Slender,  he  would  have  earned  the  gratitude 
of  posterity.  Bofkdill  is,  after  galstaff ,  the  best  known 
of  the  characters~whtch^owe  their  creation  to  the  brag- 

1  Jonson,  Ben,  The  Magnetic  Lady,  A.  II,  s.  I. 
s Ibid.,  Induction. 


On  the  Comedies  of  Ben  Jonson.         55 

ging  officer.  Mr.  von  Reinhardstoettner  says  :  ' '  Die 
Ausgaben  der  hervorragendsten  englischen  Biihnen- 
dichter  weisen  zahlreiche  Reminiszenzen  an  die  alten 
komiker  auf.  Nicht  bloss  der  gelehrte  Ben  Jonson 
(geb.  11.  Juni,  1574  ;  gest.  16.  August,  1637)  stent  in 
seinem  Stiicke  The  Case  is  Altered  auf  dem  Boden  der 
Atchtlaria  und  Captivi  und  streift  die  Mostellaria  in 
seinem  Alchemist,  die  Casina  in  seiner  Epicoene,  den 
Miles  mit  seinem  Kapitan  Bobadill,  auch  andere  zeigen 
allenthalben  die  Spuren  der  Alten.1  .  .  .  Ben  Jon- 
son, '  dessen  Vorbilder  die  alten  Meister  Terenz  und 
Plautus  waren, '  2  hat  in  seiner  komodie  Every  Man  in 
His  Htimour,  die  so  zuerst  1598  gespielt,  aber  erst  1616 
gedruckt  wurde,  in  dem  Captain  Bobadyll,  '  a  Paul's 
man,'  einen  prachtigen  Miles  glori,QS.U3  geschaffen. "  3 

Dramatic  authors  have  caught  at  the  conception  of 
the  type  of  the, .Roasting  officer,  rather  than  the  manner 
in  which  Plautus  treated  it.  The  original  was  from 
life.  He  was  a  well-known  character  at  Athens  in  the 
fourth  and  third  centuries  b.c.  In  the  wine  taverns 
and  the  barber  shops  of  the  Piraeus,  these  mercenary 
captains,  returning  from  service  with  Antigonus  and 
Seleucus,  were  wont  to  tell  exaggerated  stories  of  their 
exploits  to  the  home-keeping  Athenians.  The  only 
way  to  ridicule  a  lie  is  to  tell  a  greater  one,  so  the 
comedians  who  satirized  them  were  compelled  to  invent 
stories  which  transcended  all  possibility.  Therefore, 
Pyrgopolinices  is  only  prevented  by  the  bluntness  of 
his  sword  from  killing  five  hundred  Cappadocians  at 
one  blow  ;  and  Athemonides  relates  how  he,  unaided, 
annihilated  a  tribe  of  flying  men.      Terence,  on  the 

1  Reinhardstoettner,  Karl  von,  Plautus,  1886,  p.  79. 

4  Taine,  Hist,  of  Eng.  Lit.,  I,  404. 

3 Reinhardstoettner,  Karl  von,  Plautus,  18S6,  p.  675. 


56  The  Influence  of  Plautus 

other  hand,  makes  his  bragging  soldier  boast  of  his  wit, 
rather  than  of  his  prowess  in  war. 

"  The  braggart  is  a  character  that  the  whole  world 
has  delighted  to  cudgel  with  wordy  weapons.  He 
who  could  plan,  he  who  could  by  his  special  rules,  his 
punto,  his  reverso,  his  stoccata,  and  the  like,  undertake 
the  challenge  and  defeat  of  forty  thousand  men,  is 
destined  by  his  malignant  star  to  be  the  despised  and 
confounded  patient  of  a  bastinado. ' '  ' 

With  Thraso,  discretion  is  the  better  part  of  valor. 
Bobadilljs jiot-only^a  boaster,  but  .an  arrant  coward  as 
well,  ..„Thraso  is  vain  of  his  wit ;  Bohadill  admires-paetry 
and^p^esse^-aior^mdividuality-than  the  stock  soldiers 
of  the  .ancient  comedy .  He  is  also  frugal  and  sober, 
and  his  liesjhave  an  apparent  show  of  reason.  ' '  He  is 
the  prince  of  conceit  ;  the  very  obscure  poverty  of  his 
lodging  is  to  prevent  too  great  resort  ;  his  science  of 
defence  is  the  light,  and  his  courage  the  fire,  of  the 
martial  world,  while  his  oaths  are  the  very  conversation 
of  art  military  and  travelled  boldness.  If  the  world 
would  good-naturedly  look  at  the  character  from  the 
idea  of  its  fanciful  and  creative  possessor,  this  is  Boba- 
dill.  But  the  world  is  impertinent  enough  to  break  in 
upon  his  ideal  grandeur  and  enviously  to  reduce  him 
to  the  feelings  of  inglorious  frailty."  3 

Gifford  says  :  "  Bobadill  is  a  creature  sui  generis, 
and  perfectly  original.  The  soldier  of  the  Greek 
comedy,  from  whom  Whalley  wishes  to  derive  him,  as 
far  as  we  can  collect  from  the  scattered  remains  of  it, 
or  from  its  eternal  copyists,  Plautus  and  Terence,  had 
not  many  traits  in  common  with  Bobadill.  Pyrgopo- 
linices,  and  other  captains  with  hard  names,  are  usually 
wealthy  ;  but  Bobadill  is  poor,  as  indeed  are  most  of 

1  Retros.  Review,  Vol.  I,  p.  181.  s  Ibid. 


On  the  Comedies  of  Ben  Jonson.         57 

his  profession,  which,  whatever  it  might  be  in  Greece, 
has  never  been  a  gainful  one  in  this  country.  They 
are  profligate  and  luxurious  ;  but  J&foadilLjS'  stained 
with  no  inordinate  vice,  and  is  so  frugal,  that('  a  bunch 
of  radishes  and  a  pipe  to  close  the  orifice  of  his  stomach  ' 
satisfy  all  his  wants.  .  .  .  )  The  vanity  of  the  an- 
cient soldier  is  accompanied  with  such  stupidity,  that 
the  temptation  to  mirth  is  lessened,  whereas  Bobadill  is 
really  amusing.  This  gravity,  which  is  of  the  most  in- 
flexible nature,  contrasts  admirably  with  the  situations 
into  which  he  is  thrown,  and  though  beaten,  baffled 
and  disgraced,  he  never  so  far  forgets  himself  as  to  aid 
in  his  own  discomfiture.  He  has  no  soliloquies  like 
Bessus  and  Parolles  to  betray  his  real  character,  to  ex- 
pose himself  to  contempt,  nor  does  he  break  through 
the  decorum  of  the  scene.  .  .  .  Bobadill  has  many 
distinguishing  traits,  and  until  a  preceding  braggart 
shall  be  discovered  with  something  more  than  big 
words  and  beating  to  characterize  him,  it  may  not  be 
amiss  to  allow  Jonson  the  credit  of  having  depended 
entirely  on  his  own  resources. ' '  ' 

Without  doubt  he  learned  the  principles  of  comedy 
from  the  ancients,  Plautus  and  Terence  ;  for  they  were 
not  to  be  derived  from  moderns  at  home  or  abroad  ; 
but  he  could  not  draw  from  them  the  application  of 
living  passions  and  manners,  and  it  would  be  no  less 
unfair,  as  Mr.  Gifford  has  observed,  to  make  Bobadill  a 
copy  of  Thraso,  than  to  deny  the  dramatic  originality 
of  Kitely.  Bobadill  is  the  most  colossal  coward  and 
braggart  of  the  comic  stage.  He  offers  to  settle  the 
affairs  of  Europe  by  associating  with  himself  twenty 
other  Bobadills,  as  cunning  i'  the  face  as  himself,  and 

1  Ed.  Gifford,  I,  160.  Cf.  Reinhardstoettner,  Karl  von, 
Plautus,  1886,  p.  675. 


53 


The  Influence  of  Plautus 


challenging  an  army  of  fort}'  thousand  men,  twenty  at 
a  time,  and  killing  the  whole  in  a  certain  number  of 
days. ' 

Plautus  in  the  Curadio,  1.  442  sqq.,  has  this  idea 
worked  out,  with  the  exception  that  Therapontigonus 
accomplishes  the  deed  unaided : 

CV.    Dicam  :  quia  enim  Persas,  Paphlagonas, 
Sin6pas,  Arabes,  Cares,  Cretan6s,  Syros, 
Rhodiam,  dtque  Lyciam,  Perediam  et  Perbibesiam, 
Centauromachiam  et  Classiam  Vnom&mmiam. 
Ivibydmque  foram  omnem  Conterebr6mniam, 
Dimidiam  partem  nationum  usque  6mnium 
Subegit  solus  int[e]r[e]a  uiginti  dies. 

But  on  the  whole  Therapontigonus  seems  to  be  a 
milder  member  of  the  class  of  braggarts  of  which  Pyr- 
gopolinices  and  Bobadill  are  such  admirable  specimens. 


Bob.  Indeed,  that  might  be 
some  loss ;  but  who  respects 
it?  I  will  tell  you,  sir,  by  the 
way  of  private,  and  under  seal ; 
I  am  a  gentleman,  and  live 
here  obscure,  and  to  myself; 
but  were  I  known  to  her  ma- 
jesty and  the  lords, — observe 
me, — I  would  undertake,  upon 


PY.     Volup  est,  quod  agas  si 

id  procedit  l£pide  at  <  que 

ex>sententia. 
Nam  £go  hodie  ad  Seleucum 

regem  misi  parasitum  me- 

um, 
Vt  latrones  qu6s  conduxi  hinc 

ad  Seleucum  ducere<t>  : 
Qui   6ius  regnum  tutarentur, 

mihi  dum  fieret  6tium. 

11.  947-950.     Mi. 
PY.     Curate  ut  splendor  me6 

sit  clipeo  clarior, 
Quam    s61is    radii    esse  61im 

quom  sudumst  solent : 
Vt,   ubi  tisus    ueniat,   c6ntra 

conserta  manu 


1  Atlantic  Monthly,  Vol.  20,  p.  403,  1867. 


On  the  Comedies  of  Ben  Jonson.         59 


this  poor  head  and  life,  for  the 
public  benefit  of  the  state,  not 
only  to  spare  the  entire  lives 
of  her  subjects  in  general ;  but 
to  save  the  one  half,  nay,  three 
parts  of  her  yearly  charge  in 
holding  war,  and  against  what 
enemy  soever.  And  how  would 
I  do  it,  think  you  ? 

E.  Know.  Nay,  I  know 
not,  nor  can  I  conceive. 

Bob.  Why  thus,  sir.  I 
would  select  nineteen  more, 
to  myself,  throughout  the 
land  ;  gentlemen  they  should 
be  of  good  spirit,  strong  and 
able  constitution  ;  I  would 
choose  them  by  an  instinct,  a 
character  that  I  have  :  and  I 
would  teach  these  nineteen 
the  special  rules,  as  your 
punto,  your  reverso,  your  stoc- 
cata,  your  imbroccato,  your 
passada,  your  montanto  ;  till 
they  could  all  play  very  near, 
or  altogether  as  well  as  myself. 
This  done,  say  the  enemy  were 
forty  thousand  strong,  we 
twenty  would  come  into  the 
field  the  tenth  of  March,  or 
thereabouts ;  and  we  would 
challenge  twenty  of  the  en- 
emy ;  they  could  not  in  their 
honour  refuse  us  :  Well,  we 
would  kill  them  ;  challenge 
twenty  more,  kill  them  ;  twen- 
ty more,  kill  them ;  twenty 
more,  kill  them  too  ;  and  thus 
would  we  kill  every  man  his 


Praestringat  oculorum  aciem 

in  acie  |  hostibus. 
Nam    ego    hanc    machaeram 

mihi  consolari  uolo, 
Ne  lamentetur  n£ue  animum 

desp6ndeat, 
Quia  se  iam  pridem  f[i]6riat- 

[t]am  gestitem, 
Quae  misera  gestit  [et]  |  fra- 

trem  facere  ex  h6stibus. 
Sed   ubi  Artotrogus  hie   est  ? 
AR.  Stat  propter  uirum 
Fortem  atque  fortunatum  et 

forma  r£gia. 
Tarn    b^llatorem    Mars<se> 

haud  ausit  dicere 
Neque  a£quiperare  suds  uir- 

tutes  ad  tuas. 
PY.     Quemne  £go  seruaui  in 

c&mpis  Curculi6nieis, 
Vbi    Bumbomachides    Cltito- 

mestoridysarchides 
Erat  imperator  summus,  Nep- 

tuni  nepos;? 
AR.     Memini :    nempe  ilium 

dicis  cum  armis  aureis, 
Quoius  tu  legiones  difflauisti 

spiritu 
Quasi    uentus    folia    <a>ut 

paniculum  tect6rium. 
PY.     Istuc  quidem  edepol  nil 

est. 

11.  1-19.    ML 
AR.    .    .    .     edepol   u61    ele- 

phanto  in  India 
Quo  pacto  ei  pugno  praeYre- 

gisti  bracchiuin. 
PY.     Quid,  bracchium  ?     AR. 

Illud  dicere  uolui  :  femur. 


6o 


The  Influence  of  Plautus 


twenty  a  day,  that  's  twentjT 
score  ;  twenty  score,  that  's 
two  hundred  ;  two  hundred  a 
day,  five  days  a  thousand ; 
forty  thousand  ;  forty  times 
five,  five  times  forty  ;  two 
hundred  days  kills  them  all 
up  by  computation.  And  this 
will  I  venture  my  poor  gentle- 
man-like carcass  to  perform, 
provided  there  be  no  treason 
practiced  upon  us,  by  fair  and 
discreet  manhood  ;  that  is, 
civilly,  by  the  sword. 
Every  Man  in  His  Humour, 
A.  IV,  s.  5. 


PY.     At  indiligenter   iceram. 

11.  25-28.    Mi. 
PY.    Ecquid  meministi  ?   AR. 

Memini  :  centum  in  Cilicia 
Et   quinquaginta,    centum  in 

Scytholatronia, 
Triginta  Sardis,  sexaginta  Ma- 

cedones 
Sunt  h6mines  quos  tu  |  6cci- 

disti  un6  die. 
PY.     Quanta  istaec  hominum 

summast  ?      AR.      Septem 

milia. 
PY.      Tantum    £sse   oportet : 

recte  rationem  tenes. 

11.  42-47.     Mi. 

In  the  Curculio,  we  have 
something  similar,  in  spirit  if 
not  in  words  : 

TH.  N6n  ego  nunc  mediocri 

incedo  iratus  iracundia, 
Sed  eapse  ilia  qua  excidionem 

facere  condidici  oppidis. 
Nunc   nisi    tu    mihi    pr6pere 

properas  dare  iam  triginta 

minas 
Quas  ego    apud  te  d£posiui, 

uitam  propera  p6nere. 

11-  533-536.     Mi. 

The  soldiers  of  the  New  Attic  Comedy  are  always 
made  out  to  be  fools,  who  roar  around,  and  rant  about 
—  in  Bowery  fashion  —  to  be  gulled  in  the  end.  It  is 
not  surprising  then  that  these  three  braggadocios, 
Pyrgopolinices,  Bobadill  and  Therapontigonus  are 
brought  to  shame  and  two  receive  their  cudgelling 
after  the  manner  of  Plautus,  in  much  the  same  way. 


On  the  Comedies  of  Ben  Jonson.        61 


Down.  O,  Pharaoh's  foot, 
have  I  found  you?  Come, 
draw  to  your  tools  ;  draw, 
gipsy,  or  I  '11  thrash  you. 


Bob.  Gentleman  of  valour, 
I  do  believe  in  thee ;  hear 
me 


Down. 
then. 


Draw  your  weapon 


Bob.  Tall  man,  I  never 
thought  on  it  till  now — Body 
of  me,  I  had  a  warrant  of  the 
peace  served  on  me,  even  now 
as  I  came  along,  by  a  water- 
bearer  ;  this  gentleman  saw  it, 
Master  Mathew. 


Down.  'Sdeath  !  you  will 
not  draw  then  ?  [Disarms  and 
beats  him. 

Bob.  Hold,  hold  !  under 
thy  favour  forbear  ! 

Bob.  I  cannot  tell,  sir;  I 
desire  good  construction  in 
fair  sort.  I  never  sustain'd 
the  like  disgrace,  by  heaven ! 
sure  I  was  struck  with  a  planet 


PE.  Ducite  istum :  si  non 
sequitur,  rapite  sublim£m 
foras. 

Facite  inter  terram  atque  cae- 
lum ut  sit :  f  discindite. 

PY.  Obsecro  hercle,  Periplec- 
[tjomene,  t€. 


PY.     Perii. 


<PY.>  Oiei,  satis  sum  uer- 
beratus :  6bsecro. 

PY.  Opsecro  hercle  te,  ut  mea 
uerba  audias  prius  quam 
secat. 

PY.     Iuro  per  Iouem  et  Ma- 

uortem  me   nociturum  ne- 

mini, 
Quod  ego  hie  hodie  uapularim: 

iureque  id  factum  arbitror  : 
Et  si  intestatus  non  abeo  hinc, 

bene  agitur  pro  n6xia. 


PY.     Mitis  sum  equidem  fus- 
tibus : 

PY.  Vae  miser6  mi  hi : 
V£rba  mihi   data  £sse  uideo. 

scelus  uiri  Pala6strio, 
Is   me    iu  hanc   inl£xit  frau- 

dem.        11.  1394-1435.     Mi. 


62 


The  Influence  of  Plautus 


thence,  for  I  had  no  power  to 
touch  my  weapon. 


E.  Know.  Ay,  like  enough; 
I  have  heard  of  many  that 
have  been  beaten  under  a 
planet :  go,  get  you  to  a  sur- 
geon. 
Every  Man  in  His  Humour, 

A.  IV,  s.  5. 


So  Therapontigonus  in  the 
Cu.,  1.  555  sq.: 

TH.    Quid  ego  nunc  faciam? 

quid  refert  me"  fecisse  r6gibus 
Vt  mi  oboedir£nt,  si  hie  me 

hodie  umbraticus  deriserit? 

Again,  1.  572  sqq.  : 

TH.     Leno  minitatur  mihi 
Mea^que     pugnae    pro£liares 

plurumae  optritae"  iacent  ? 
At  ita  me  machaera  et  clypeus 

B£ne    iuuent    pugnantem    in 

acie  :  nisi  mi[hi]  uirgo  r^d- 

ditur, 
lam  £go  te  faciam  ut  hie  formi- 

cae  frfistillatim  differant. 

And  1.  589  sq.  : 
TH.     Quid  ego  faciam?  ma- 

neam     an     abeam?      sicine 

mihi  esse  os  6blitum  ? 
Cupio  dare  mereddem  qui  il- 

lunc    ubi    sit   commonstr^t 

mihi. 


"In  Ben  Jonson's  Every  Man  Out  of  His  Humour 
findet  sich  wieder  '  a  vain-glorious  knight '  in  der 
Gestalt  des  Puntarvolo.  Gifford  nimmt  diesen  und 
Bobadill  fur  wirkliche  Personlichkeiten.1  Im  Poet- 
aster, or'  his  arraignment,2  treffen  wir  auf  eine  ver- 
wandte  Figur  in  Pantilius  Tucca,  den  Davies  als  eine 
'  wretched  copy  of  Falstaff '  bezeichnet,  wogegen  Gif- 

1  Reinhardstoettner,  Karl  von,  Plautus,  1886,  p.  677.  Cf.  Ed. 
Gifford,  II,  213.  "No  one  believes  that  Bobadill  was  a  mere 
creature  of  the  imagination." 

2  Ibid.,  Note  3.     Cf.  Rapp,  Studien,  S.  223. 


On  the  Comedies  of  Ben  Jonson.         63 

ford  eifert.1— Auch  Dekker's  Captain  Tucca  und  Con- 
greve's  Noll  Bluff2  sind  ziemlich  ungeschickt  Ben 
Jonson' s  Bobadill  nachgeahmt. "  3 

With  the  one  exception  of  Bobadill,  the  character  of 
Captain  Pantilius  Tucca  is  the  brightest  and  best 
of  Jonson' s  inventions.  In  comic  effect,  Bobadill  was 
much  the  superior  character.4  "  The  delightful  cow- 
ardice, and  inoffensive  pretension  of  Bobadill,"  says 
Mr.  Swinburne,  "  is  admirably  contrasted  with  the 
blatant  vulgarity  and  flagrant  rascality  of  Tucca."  5 

The  Mostellaria,  or  Hob-goblin,  is  generally  called 
in  English  translations  The  Hatcnted  House.  This 
play  has  no  plot  strictly  speaking,  and  the  interest  is 
centred  in  the  ludicrous  efforts  of  the  slave,  Tranio,  to 
prevent  the  master,  Theuropides,  just  returned  from 
abroad,  from  entering  the  house  which  is  represented 
as  being  haunted.  The  truth  is  that  Theuropides'  son 
and  a  congenial  spirit  have  been  enjoying  a  carouse 
there  in  view  of  which  his  sudden  appearance  is  mal  a 
propos.  The  play  is  coarse  in  its  conception,  and  has 
little  to  recommend  it  to  popular  favor  ;  it  is  chiefly  re- 
markable as  being  the  original  of  Regnard's  Le  Retour 
Imprevu,  and  Fielding's  Intriguing  Chambermaid. 

Mr.  von  Reinhardstoettner  in  his  analysis  of  this 
comedy  says  :   "  Noch  wird  von  Flogel,6  Fuhrman,7 

1  Reinhardstoettner,  Karl  von,  Plautus,  1886,  p.  677,  Note  4. 
Cf.  Ed.  Gifford,  II,  550. 

2  Ibid.,  Note  5.    Cf.  Ed.  Gifford,  I,  214.  3  Ibid. 
4Symonds,  J.  A.,  Ben  Jonson,  1888. 

5  Swinburne,  Algernon  Charles,  A  Study  of  Ben  Jonson,  1889, 

P-  25. 

6  Reinhardstoettner,  Karl  von,  Plautus,  1886,  p.  488,  Note  1. 

Cf.  Gesch.  d.  k.  Litt.,  Ill,  217. 

7  Ibid.,  Note  2.     Cf.  Handbuch,  III,  51. 


64  The  Influence  of  Plautus 

und  Rapp  '  Ben  Jonson's  Lustspiel  The  Alchemist  das 
zuerst  1610  aufgefiihrt  wurde,  mit  der  Mostellaria  in 
Zusammenhang  gebracht.  '  Die  Situation,'  sagt  Rapp 
(a.  a.  O.),  '  ist  iibrigens  aus  Plautus'  Mostellaria  ent- 
lehnt  und  in  London  lokalisiert  .  .  .  Die  kata- 
strophe  durch  die  Ankunft  des  Londoner  Burgers,  wie 
in  der  Mostellaria. '  Dryden  halt  den  Alchemist  fur  ein 
Plagiat  des  Albumazar,  wodurch  die  innere  Beziehung 
beider  Stticke  zu  Plautus  hergestellt  ware."  2 

The  Fox  and  The  Alchemist,  although  the  materials 
of  the  latter  are  purely  English,  have  something  in 
their  cast  and  manner  of  treatment,  which  makes  them 
read  like  Plautus  and  Terence,  many  times  enriched 
and  elaborated. 

"  Der  Alchemist,"  says  Mr.  von  Reinhardstoettner, 
"in  welch  em  uns  an  Sir  Epicure  Mammon  eine  Art 
Falstaff  entgegentritt,  mag,  da  ja  Ben  Jonson  ein 
griindlicher  kenner  der  Alten  war  und  ihrer  an  zahl- 
reichen  stellen  seiner  Lustspiele  gedenkt,  das  eine  oder 
andere  Plautus  schulden  ;  eine  Nachahmung  der  Mos- 
tellaria ist  er  nicht.  Der  Inhalt  in  nachstehendem 
Akrostichon  spricht  am  besten  fur  diese  Behauptung."  ' 

"The  sickness  hot,  a  master  quit,  for  fear, 
His  house  in  town,  and  left  one  servant  there  ; 
Ease  him  corrupted,  and  gave  means  to  know 
A  Cheater,  and  his  punk  ;  who  now  brought  low, 
Leaving  their  narrow  practice,  were  become 
Cozeners  at  large  ;  and  only  wanting  some 
House  to  set  up,  with  him  they  here  contract, 
Each  for  a  share,  and  all  begin  to  act. 

1  Reinhardstoettner,  Karl  von,  Plautus,  1886,  p.  488,  Note  3. 
Cf.  Studien,  S.  230. 

2  Ibid.  3  Ibid. 


On  the  Comedies  of  Ben  Jonson.        65 

Much  company  they  draw,  and  much  abuse, 
In  casting  figures,  telling  fortunes,  news, 
Selling  of  flies,  flat  bawdry,  with  the  stone, 
Till  it  and  they,  and  all  in  fume  are  gone."  ' 

'  Durch  Subtle  und  seine  Genossen,  Face  tmd  Dol 
Common,  wird  die  Dummheit  der  Menschen,  welche 
an  den  vermeintlichen  Alchemisten  und  seine  Wunder- 
leistungen  glauben,  solange  ausgeniitzt,  bis  endlich 
der  ganze  Missbrauch  aufgedeckt  wird,  da  der  Besitzer 
des  Hauses,  Love- Wit,  zuriickkehrt.  Er  hort,  wie  leb- 
haft  es  in  seinem  Hause  wahrend  seiner  Abwesenheit 
zuging,  von  den  Nachbarn  (v,  1)  welche  ihm  die  wun- 
derbarsten  Dinge  erzahlen.  Auf  sein  Klopfen  wird 
ihm  nicht  geantwortet  : 

'This  's  strange  !  that  none  will  answer.' 

Face  ist  der  erste,  der  hervortritt. " 

Face.     Good  Sir,  come  from  the  door ! 

Lov.     Why  ?  what 's  the  matter  ? 

Face.     Yet  farther,  you  are  too  near  yet. 

Lov.      In  the  name  of  wonder  !     What  means  the  fellow  ? 

Face.     The  house,  sir,  has  been  visited. 

Lov.      What,  with  the  plague  ?  stand  thou  then  farther  ! 

Face.     No,  sir,  I  had  it  not. 

Lov.      Who  had  it  then  ?    I  left 

None  else  but  thee  in  the  house  ! 

Face.    Yes,  sir,  my  fellow, 

The  cat  that  kept  the  buttery,  had  it  on  her 
A  week  before  I  spied  it ;  but  I  got  her 
Convey'd  away,  in  the  night.     And  so  I  shut 
The  house  up  for  a  month.2 

And  Mr.  von  Reinhardstoettner  adds,  ' '  ohne  weitere 

•Jonson,  Ben,  The  Alchemist.     Acrostic  argument. 
8  Ibid.,  A.  V,  s.  1. 


66  The  Influence  of  Plautus 


Anklange  an  die  Mostellaria. ' '  '  This  conclusion  seems 
to  be  precipitate,  for  farther  on  occurs  convincing  evi- 
dence that  Jonson  drew  directly  from  the  Mostellaria 
for  this  portion  of  the  play. 

Compare  the  reflection  of  Face,  with  the  soliloquy  of 
Tranio,  in  this  scene  of  the  Latin  play,  and  note  the 
great  similarity.  This  resemblance  cannot  be  merely 
accidental — such  as  would  arise  from  treating  two  sub- 
jects partially  similar  —  but  it  is  rather  a  direct  copy  : 

TH.     Sed  quid  hoc  ?  occlusa  i&nuast  interdius. 

Pultabo.     <h>eus,  [h]ecquis  <hic>  est?  aperitin  foris ? 

TR,     Quis  homost  qui  nostras  addes&ccessit  prope  ? 

[Face.    What  mean  you,  sir  ?] 
TH.     Meus  s£ruos  hicquidemst  Tranio.      11. 444-447.      Mo. 

[1.  2.  4.     Nei.     O,  here  's  Jeremy  !] 

At  this  point,  Jonson  has  abridged  what  Plautus  has 
greatly  elaborated.  We  readily  perceive,  however, 
that  this  would  be  a  special  opportunity  for  Plautus, 
which  he  would  make  the  most  of  for  the  purpose  of 
creating  a  laugh,  as  the  scene  is  exceedingly  ludicrous. 

TH.    Quid  u6s,  insanin  dstis  ?     TR.      Quidum  ?     TH.     Sic : 

quia 
Foris  ainbulatis  :  n&tus  nemo  in  aedibus 
Seruat,  neque  qui  recludat  neque  qui[s]  f  respondeat. 
Pultando  [pedibus]  paene  c6nfregi  <h>asceambas  <foris>. 
TR.     E<h>o,  an  tu[te]  tetigisti  has  a£dis?    TH.     Cur  non 

tangerem 
Ouin  pultando,  inquam,  pa£ne  confregi  foris. 
TR.    Tetigistin  ?    TH.    Tetigi,  inquam,  £t  pultaui.    TR.    Vdh. 

TH.     Quid  est? 
TR.     Male  hexcle  factum.     TH.     Quid  est  negoti?  TR.     N6n 

potest 
Dici  quam  indignum  facinus  fecisti  et  malum. 

1  Reinhardstoettner,  Karl  von,  Plautus,  1886,  p.  489. 


On  the  Comedies  of  Ben  Jonson.         67 

TH.     Quid  iam.   TR.    Fuge  obsecro  atque  abscede  ab  aedibus  : 
Fuge  hue,  fuge  ad  me  pr6pius.    tetigistin  foris  ? 
TH.     Quo  modo  pultare  potui,  si  nou  tangerem  ?    11.  450-462. 
TR.      Capitale  scelus  factu<m>st.      TH.      Quid    est?    non 
intellego.  1.  475. 

The  space  occupied  by  the  fabrication  of  the  murdered 
man,  coincides  with  that  taken  up  by  L,ovewit  in  the 
rehearsal  of  the  reports  of  the  neighbors.  The  incident 
of  the  noise  heard  within  the  house,  is,  with  a  slight 
variation,  the  same  in  both. 


Face,  [Goes  to  the  door.~\ 
Good  faitb,  sir,  I  believe 

Tbere  's  no  sucb  tbing  :  't  is  all 
deceptio  visits — 

Would  I  could  get  bim  away. 

[Aside. 

Dap.  {within.}  Master  cap- 
tain !  master  doctor  ! 

Love.     Who  's  tbat  ? 

Face.  Our  clerk  within,  that 
I  forgot !  [Aside. 

I  know  not,  sir. 

Face.    Ha ! 

Illusions,  some  spirit  o'  the 
air  ! — His  gag  is  melted, 

And  now  he  sets  out  the 
throat.  [Aside. 

Dap.  [withiti.]  I  am  almost 
stifled— 

Face.  Would  you  were  alto- 
gether. [Aside. 

Love.     'T  is  in  the  house. 
Ha  !  list. 

Face.  Believe  it,  sir,  in  the 
air. 

Love.     Peace,  you. 


TH.      Quid     6bsecro     hercle 

factumst  ?      TR.      Concre- 

puit  foris. 
<INTVS>  Hicine  percussit  ? 

TH.     Guttam    haud   habeo 

sanguinis : 
Viuom  me  accersunt  A[d]che- 

runtem  mortui. 
<TR.>       Per<ii:>      illisce 

hodie    hanc     conturbabunt 

fabulam. 
Nimis  quam  formido,  ne"  ma- 

nufesto  hie  me  6pprimat. 
TH.     Quid  tute  <te>cum  16- 

quere  ?    <TR.  >  Abscede  ab 

ianua  : 
Fuge,    obsecro    hercle.     TH. 

Quo    fugiam?      Etiam    tu 

fuge[s]. 
TR.     Nil   ego  formido :    pax 

mihist  cum  m6rtuis. 
INTVS.         Heus,        Tranio. 

<TR.>      {In  a  low  voice, 

near  the  door. )   Non  me  dp- 

pellabis,  si  sapis. 
Nil  £gocommerui,  ndque  istas 

percussi  fores. 


63 


The  Influence  of  Plautus 


Dap.  [within.']  Mine  aunt's 
grace  does  not  use  me  well. 

Sub.  [within.]     You  fool, 

Peace,  you  '11  mar  all. 

Face,  [speaks  through  the 
key-hole,  while  Love  wit  ad- 
vances to  the  door  unob- 
served.] Or  you  will  else, 
you  rogue. 

Love.  O,  is  it  so  ?  Then  you 
converse  with  spirits  ! — 

Come,  sir.  No  more  of  your 
tricks,  &c. 

The  Alchemist,  A.  V,  s.  i. 

Face.     Surly  come ! 

And  Mammon  made  acquaint- 
ed !  they  '11  tell  all. 

How  shall  I  beat  them  off? 
what  shall  I  do  ? 

Nothing 's  more  wretched  than 
a  guilty  conscience.  [Aside. 

Ibid. 


Quaeso  w  —  -^  —  -^  —  Quid  ? 

s£greges 
— —  <-  —  —  <TH.  Quaer>es 

te  agitat,  Tranio  ? 
[TR.]     Quicutn  ista[h]ec  lo- 

quere  ? 

11.  507-519- 

TR.      Nunc    p61    ego     perri 

plane  in  perpetu6m  modum. 

Danista  adest,  qui  d£ditw — 

Qui  amicast  empta  qu6que — 

Manuf£sta  res  est,     .     .     . 
Metu6  ne  de  hac  re  quippiam 
in  <d>  audiuerit. 

Nil  6st  miserius  quam  animus 

hominis  c6nscius, 
Sicut  me  <male>  habet. 

11.  53^-545- 


The  Plautine  words,  quoted  verbatim,  and  their  rela- 
tive position  in  scenes  similar  in  spirit  and  idea,  seem 
to  leave  little  room  for  doubt  that  Jonson  has  here 
made  a  direct  copy  from  the  old  play.  The  servants, 
Face  and  Tranio,  on  whose  trickery  the  play  turns,  are 
forgiven  in  much  the  same  way  : 


Face     .     .     .    You  need  not 

fear  the  house ; 
It  was  not  visited. 
Love.     But  by  me,  who  came 
Sooner  than  you  expected. 
Face.    It  is  true,  sir. 
'Pray  you  forgive  me. 

The  Alchemist,  A.  V,  s.  1. 


CA.      Mitte,    quaes  <o>,    is- 
tum. 

1.  1172. 


On  the  Comedies  of  Ben  Jonson.        69 

No  mention,  I  think,  has  been  made  of  the  great 
similarity  in  the  visions  of  wealth  and  glory  of  Gripus, 
in  the  R.,  and  those  of  the  real  hero  in  The  Alchemist. 
As  with  Gripus,  Sir  Epicure  Mammon  is  inflated  with 
visions  of  wealth  beyond  the  dreams  of  avarice.  "  It 
is  of  little  moment  to  demur  that  Mammon's  day- 
dreams are  '  incongruous  with  his  quality  of  a  city 
knight,'  and  that  half  of  what  he  says  is  '  borrowed 
from  the  Augustan  Histories.'  (  !  )  Jonson  was  de- 
picting a  hyperbolical  character  ;  and  it  served  his 
purpose  to  gather  the  vices  and  luxuries  of  all  nations 
into  one  delirious  vision.  Sir  Epicure  Mammon  ex- 
hibits in  his  rhetoric  the  calenture  of  a  brain  inflated 
by  the  expectation  of  absolutely  illimitable  power  over 
nature."  1 

Now  let  us  compare  these  visions  of  Sir  Epicure 
Mammon  with  those  of  Gripus,  in  the  old  Roman  play, 
and  see  if  we  cannot  find  their  source  here  rather  than 
in  the  "  Augustan  Histories,"  referred  to. 

GR.      Nunc  haec  tibi  occasio,  Gripe,  optigit,  utf  liberes  ex 

populo  praeter  te. 
Nunc  sic  faciam,  sic  c6nsiliumst :  ad  erum  ueniam  docte  atque 

astu[te], 
Pauxillatim  pollicitabor  pro  capite  argentum,  ut  sim  liber. 

R.,  11.  927-929. 

This  would  be  manumission  of  the  slave. 
Jonson  : 

Mam.     .     .     . 

Lungs,  I  will  manumit  thee  from  the  furnace  ; 
I  will  restore  thee  thy  complexion,  Puffe, 
Lost  in  the  embers  ;  and  repair  this  brain, 
Hurt  with  the  fume  o'  the  metals. 

1  Symonds,  J.  A.,  Ben  Jonson,  1888.  Cf.  Swinburne,  Alger- 
non Charles,  A  Study  of  Ben  Jonson,  1S89. 


;o 


The  Influence  of  Plautus 


Mam.  Lungs,  I  will  set  a 
To  all  thy  labours ;  thou 
Of  my  seraglio. 

Again  : 

Mam.  This  is  the  day, 
wherein,  to  all  my  friends, 

I  will  pronounce  the  happy 
word,  Be  rich  ; 

This  day  you  shall  be  specta- 
tissimi. 

You  shall  start  up  young  vice- 
roys, 

.    .    .   This  night,  I  '11  change 

All  that  is  metal,  in  my  house, 
to  gold  : 

And,  early  in  the  morning, 
will  I  send 

To  all  the  plumbers  and  the 
pewterers, 

And  buy  their  tin  and  lead  up  ; 
and  to  Lothbury 

For  all  the  copper. 

Sur.    What,  and  turn  that  too  ? 

Mam.  Yes,  and  I  '11  purchase 
Devonshire  and  Cornwall, 

And  make  them  perfect  In- 
dies !     You  admire  now  ? 

Sur.     No,  faith. 

Mam.     Ha  !  why  ? 
Do    you    think  I  fable  with 
you?  &c. 


period 

shalt  be  the  master 

The  Alchemist,  A.  II,  s.  i. 

GR: 

lam  ubi  liber  er<o>,  igitur 
demum  instruam  agrum  at- 
que  aedis,  mancipia  : 

Nauibus  magnis  mercaturam 
faciam  :  apud  reges  rex  p£r- 
hibebor. 

Post  dnimi  causa  mihi  nauem 
faciam  atque  imitabor  Strd- 
tonicum, 

Oppida  circumuectabor. 

Vbi  n6bilitas  mea  erit  clara, 

Oppidum  magnum  commu- 
nibo: 

Ui  ego  virbi  Gripo  indam  no- 
men, 

Monimentum  meae  famae  £t 
factis, 

Ibi  qui  regnum  magnum  in- 
stituam. 

Magnas  res  hie  agito  in  men- 
tern 

Instruere. 

R.,  1.  930  sqq. 

Mr.  Riley  suggests  that  this 
is  wonderfully  like  Alnas- 
char's  reverie  in  the  Arabian 
Nights,  so  aptly  quoted  in  the 
Spectator.^ 


Mam.     Pertinax  [my]  Surly, 

1  The  Comedies  of  Plautus.     Trans,  by  Henry  Thomas  Riley, 
Vol.  II,  p.  106,  Note  2. 


On  the  Comedies  of  Ben  Jonson.         71 

Again  I  say  to  thee,  aloud,  Be 
rich. 

This  day,  thou  shalt  have  in- 
gots ;  and,  tomorrow, 

Give  lords  th'  affront. 

Mam.     For  I  do  mean 

To  have  a  list  of  wives  and 

concubines, 
Equal  with  Solomon. 

The  Alchemist,  A.  II,  s.  I. 

The  Case  is  Altered  is  indebted  to  Plautus  for  almost 
the  entire  plot.  It  is  perhaps  the  only  one,  for  no 
other  play  by  Jonson  draws  so  largely  from  the  Plautine 
comedies.  We  have  found  scenes,  episodes,  allusions, 
and  direct  quotations  which  are  evidently  Plautine,  in 
other  comedies,  but  the  plot  is  still  Jonson' s  invention. 

This  comedy,  which  should  have  stood,  had  chro- 
nology only  been  consulted,  at  the  head  of  Jonson's 
works,  for  in  1598  it  was  already  a  popular  piece  and 
bears  many  marks  of  juvenility  about  it,  was  first 
printed  in  quarto,  in  1609. 

But,  according  to  Gifford,1  it  must  have  been  written 
at  least  ten  or  twelve  years  previously,  as  it  is  familiarly 
spoken  of  by  Nash  in  his  Lenten  Stuff,  which  appeared 
in  1599  :  "  It  is  not  right,  of  the  merry  cobbler's  cutte 
in  that  witty  play  of  '  the  Case  is  altered.'  "3  Ben 
Jonson  was  now  recent  from  the  Roman  writers  of 
comedy,  and,  in  this  pleasant  piece,  both  Plautus  and 
Terence  are  laid  under  frequent  contribution.3 

1  Ed.  Gifford,  Ben  Jonson,  VI,  320.  Cf.  Reinhardstoettner, 
Karl  von,  Plautus,  1886,  p.  347,  Note  9. 

2  Nash,  Lenten  Stuff,  p.  68.     Vgl.  auch  das  Weitere  a.  a.  O. 

3  Ed.  Gifford,  Ben  Jonson,  I,  xxxiv.  Cf.  Reinhardstoettner 
Karl  von,  Plautus,  p.  347,  Note  9. 


72  The  Influence  of  Plautus 

"  Der  gelehrle  Ben  Jonson,"  says  Mr.  von  Reinhard- 
stoettner,  "  steht  in  seinem  Stiicke  The  Case  is  Altered 
auf  deni  Boden  der  Aulularia  und  Captivi.  l  .  .  . 
Eine  ausserst  gelungene  Kontamination  zweier  plau- 
tinischer  Stiicke,  der  Atdularia  und  der  Captivi  ist  in 
dem  englischen  I,ustspiele  The  Case  is  Altered  enthal- 
ten,  welches  Ben  Jonson  zugeschrieben  wird. ' '  2 

There  is  a  considerable  degree  of  ingenuity  in  the 
construction  of  this  lively  comedy.  Dunlop  thinks 
Jonson  probably  found  the  plot  of  the  Aulularia  too 
simple  for  his  purpose,  and  he  praises  him  for  the  dex- 
terity with  which  he  has  contrived  to  interweave  that  of 
the  Captivi  with  it,  so  as  to  form  a  consistent  whole.3 

The  Aulularia  gives  the  portrait  of  a  miser,  and  is 
considered  to  be  one  of  the  best  of  the  Plautine  come- 
dies, both  in  execution  and  in  plot.4  The  Captivi  \s  a 
pathetic  piece,  without  female  characters  or  love  in- 
trigue, and  without  active  interest  (statarid),  though 
well  constructed  and  enlivened  by  the  character  of  the 
parasite.5 

' '  L,assen  wir  alle  nicht  hierher  gehorigen  Episoden, 
so  besonders  den  trefflichen  Schuhfiicker  Juniper  und 
seine  Gesellschaft,  so  vertritt  uns  das  Haus  des  Geiz- 
halses  Jaques  de  Brie  die  Aulularia,  jenes  des  Count 
Ferneze  die  Captivi.  Die  szene  ist  nach  Mailand  ver- 
legt. ' '  6  Mr.  von  Reinhardstoettner  gives  the  follow- 
ing, as  a  direct  copy  from  the  Captivi  :  ' '  Count  Fer- 
neze hat  einen  Sohn  verloren,' 

1  Reinhardstoettner,  Karl  von,  Plautus,  18S6,  p.  79. 

2  Ibid.,  p.  346. 

3  Dunlop,  Hist,  of  Roman  Literature,  I,  172.  Cf.  Ussing,  II, 
459.     Ed.  Gifford,  Ben  Jonson,  VI,  421. 

4Teuffel-Schwabe,  Hist,  of  Roman  Lit.  Tr.  by  Geo.  C.  W. 
Warr,  1891,  I,  p.  135.  5  Ibid. 

6  Reinhardstoettner,  Karl  von,  Plautus,  1886,  p.  347.     7  Ibid. 


On  the  Comedies  of  Ben  Jonson.         73 

'  I  had  one  other,  younger  born  than  this, 
By  twice  so  many  hours  as  would  fill 
The  circle  of  a  year,  his  name  Camillo, 
Whom  in  that  black  and  fearful  night  I  lost, 
('Tis  now  a  nineteen  years  agone  at  least) 
It  was  that  night  wherein  the  great  Chamont, 
The  general  for  France,  surprised  Vicenza.' ' 

Dort  wurde  nach  seiner  Annahme  sein  Sohn  von  Sol- 
daten  ermordet." 

The  lines  in  the  Captivi,  from  which  this  is  taken,  are : 

TYN.     .     .     .     p£rdidi  unum  filium, 
Puerum  quadrimum  qu6m  mihi  seruos  surpuit, 
Neque  eum  seruorn  umquam  repperi  neque  filium  : 
Maior  potitus  hostiumst.     quod  hoc  est  scelus  ? 
Quasi  in  orbitatem  liberos  produxerim.      11.  759-763. 

Mr.  von  Reinhardstoettner  again  quotes  Gifford  Q  : 
"  Das  weitere  Interesse  nehmen  die  Gefangenen,  ganz 
nach  Plautus,  in  Anspruch  :  '  The  whole  incident  of 
Paulo  Ferneze's  being  taken  prisoner  on  the  one  side, 
and  Charmont  and  Camillo  on  the  other,  with  the  ex- 
changing of  their  names,  and  Camillo' s  being  left  for 
Chamont,  is  taken  from  the  Captivi  of  Plautus.'3 

"Chamont  und  Camillo — genannt  Gasper — sind  wie 
Philokrates  und  Tyndarus,  aufrichtige  Freunde,  und 
Chamont  kann  sagen  : 

'  How  may  I  bless  the  time  wherein  Chamont, 
My  honour'd  father,  did  surprise  Vicenza, 
Where  this  my  friend  (known  by  no  name)  was  found, 
Being  then  a  child,  and  scarce  of  power  to  speak, 

1  Jonson,  Ben,  The  Case  is  Altered,  A.  I,  s.  2. 
8  Ed.  Gifford,  Ben  Jonson,  VI,  397. 

3  Reinhardstoettner,  Karl  von,  Plautus,  1886,  p.  349.  Cf. 
Whalley. 


74 


The  Influence  of  Plautus 


To  whom  my  father  gave  this  name  of  Gasper, 
And  as  his  own  respected  him  to  death.'  "  ' 

A  comparison  of  the  Captivi  and  the  Aulularia  with 
The  Case  is  Altered,  although  lengthy,  is  necessary  in 
showing  the  dependence  of  the  latter  on  the  former. 

As  Chamont  and  Camillo  are  the  Philocrates  and 
Tyndarus  of  the  Plautine  comedy,  so  Count  Ferneze 
answers  to  Hegio,  and  Pacue  to  Aristophontes  : 


[Enter  a  Messenger.] 

Mes.     See,  here 's  the  Count 

Ferneze, 
I  will  tell  him 
The  hapless  accident  of  his 

brave  son, 
That  he  may  seek  the  sooner 

to  redeem  him. — 
God  save  your  lordship  ! 
Count  F.    You  are  right  wel- 
come, sir. 
Mes.     I  would  I  brought  such 

news  as  might  deserve  it. 
Count  F.     What !  bring  you 

me  ill  news  ? 
Mes.     'T  is  ill,  my  lord, 
Yet  such  as  usual  chance  of 

war  affords, 
And  for  which  all  men  are 

prepared  that  use  it, 
And  those  that  use  it  not  but 

in  their  friends, 
Or  in  their  children. 
Count  F.     Ill  news  of  my  son, 
My  dear  and  only  son,  I'll  lay 

my  soul ! 


Seni   huic    fuerunt   filii   nati 

duo  : 
Alteram   quadrimum  puerum 

seruos  surpuit 
Eumque  hinc  profugiens  u£n- 

didit  in  Alide 
Patri  fhuiusce  :   iam  h6c  te- 

netis?  6ptutnumst. 

Cp.  Prologus,  11.  7-10. 
Is  postquam  hunc  emit,  d£- 

dit  eum  huic  gnat6  suo 
Peculiarem,    quia    quasi    una 

aetas  erat. 
Hie  nunc  domi  seruit  su6  patri 

nee  scit  pater. 

Ibid.,  11.  19-21. 
Rati6nem    habetis    qu6modo 

unum  amiserit. 
Postquam    belligerant    A£toli 

cum  I  Aleis, 
Vt  fit  in  bello,  capitur  alter 

filius. 
Medicus  Menarchus  £mit  ibi- 
dem in  Alide. 
Coepit    captiuos    c6mmercari 

hie  Aleos, 


'Jonson,  Ben,  The  Case  is  Altered,  A.  IV,  s.  2.    Cf.  Rein- 
hardstoettner,  Karl  von,  Plautus,  p.  349. 


On  the  Comedies  of  Ben  Jonson.         75 


Ah  me  accurs'd  !  thought  of 

his  death  doth  wound  me, 
And  the  report  of  it  will  kill 

me  quite. 
Mes.     'T  is  not  so  ill,  my  lord. 
Count  F.     How  then  ? 
Mes.     He  's  taken  prisoner, 

and  that  is  all. 
Count   F.    That    is    enough, 

enough ; 

Is  Maximilian  taken  prisoner 

too? 
Mes.     No,  good  my  lord ;  he 

is  return 'd  with  prisoners. 

Count  F.  O,  in  what  tem- 
pests do  my  fortunes  sail ! 

Still  wrack'd  with  winds  more 
foul  and  contrary 

Than  any  northern  gust,  or 
southern  flaw, 

That  ever  yet  inforced  the  sea 
to  gape, 

And  swallow  the  poor  mer- 
chants' traffic  up. 

First  in  Vicenza  lost  I  my 
first  son, 

Next  here  in  Miian  my  most 
dear-loved  lady, 

And  now  my  Paulo  prisoner  to 
the  French  ; 

Which  last  being  printed  with 
my  other  griefs, 

Doth  make  so  huge  a  volume, 
that  my  breast 

Cannot  contain  them. 


Siquem    reperire   p6sset,   qui 

mutet  suom 
— Ilium  captiuom  :  hunc  suom 

esse  nescit  qui  domist — 
Et  quoniam  heri  indaudiuit  de 

summ6  loco 
Summoque     genere     captum 

esse  equitem  |  Aleum, 
Nil  pr£tio    parsit    filio    dum 

parceret : 
Rec6nciliare  ut  facilius  posset 

domum 
Emit  hosce  e  praeda  ambos  de 

quaest6ribus. 

Ibid.,  11.  23-34. 
Enim  uero  di  nos  quasi  pilas 

homines  habent. 

Ibid.,  1.  22. 
Homunculi  quanti  sunt,  quom 

rec6gito.) 

Ibid.,  1.  51. 
HE.     perdidi  unum  filium, 

Puerum     quadrimum     qu£m 

mihi  seruos  surpuit, 
Neque  eum  seruom  umquam 

repperi  neque  filium  : 
Mai6r  potitus  hostiumst. 

11.  759-762. 
HE.       Habe     m6do    bonum 

animum.  nam  ilium  confid6 

domum 
In  his  diebus  m€  reconcilias- 

sere. 
Nam    eccum     hie    captiuom 

adul£scentem      <  i  n  t  u  s  > 

Aleum 
Progndtum  genere  summo  et 

summis  ditiis  : 


76 


The  Influence  of  Plautus 


Mes.      My    lord,    since    only 

money  may  redress 
The  worst  of  this  misfortune, 

be  not  grieved  ; 
Prepare  his  ransom,  and  your 

noble  son 
Shall  greet  your  cheered  eyes 

•with  the  more  honour. 
Count  F.     I  will  prepare  his 

ransom  ;   gracious  heaven 
Grant  his  imprisonment  may 

be  his  worst, 
Honour'd  and  soldier-like  im- 
prisonment, 
And  that  he  be  not  manacled, 

and  made 
A  drudge  to  his  proud  foe  ! 

The  Case  is  Altered.    Act 
III,  s.  I. 

Max.  Gentlemen,  (I  would 
call  an  emperor  so,)  you 
are  now  my  prisoners  ;  I 
am  sorry  ;  marry  this,  spit 
in  the  face  of  your  fortunes, 
for  your  usage  shall  be  hon- 
ourable. 

Cam.  We  know  it,  signior 
Maximilian  ; 

The  fame  of  all  your  action 
sounds  nought  else 

But  perfect  honour,  from  her 
swelling  cheeks. 

Max.  It  shall  do  so  still,  I 
assure  you,  and  I  will  give 
you  reason  :  there  is  in  this 
last  action,  you  know,  a 
noble  gentleman  of  our 
party,  and  a  right  valiant, 
semblably  prisoner  to  your 


Hoc  ilium  me  mutare  confid6 

pote. 

11.  167-171. 
HE.     Adu6rte  animum  sis  tu  : 

istos  captiu6s  duos 
Heri    quos  emi  de-   praeda  a 

quaest6ribus, 
Is  indito  catenas  singularias 
Istas,    maiores     quibus     sunt 

iuncti  ddmito. 

11.  110-113. 
LOR.      Si  di    immortales  id 

uoluerunt  u6s  hanc  aerum- 

nam  exsequi, 
Decet  id  pati  animo  |  a£quo  : 

si   id   faci£tis,   leuior  labos 

erit. 
Domi  fuistis  credo  liberi  : 
Nunc  s^ruitus  si  eu£nit,  ei  uos 

morigerari  m6s  bonust 
fEamque  et  erili  impdrio  in- 

geniis  u6stris  lenem  r£ddere. 

11.  I95-I99- 

HE.  .  .  .  hie  captiuom  adu- 
lescentem  <intus>  Aleum 

Prognatum  genere  summo  et 
summis  ditiis  : 

Hoc  ilium  me  mutare  confido 
pote. 

11.  169-171. 

<HE.>  Qu6  de  genere  na- 
tust  i  1 1  i  c  Philocrates  ? 
PHIL.    Polyplusio: 

Qu6d  genus  illi[c]  est  unum 
pollens  atque  honoratissu- 
mum. 

HE.      Quid   ipsus  hie?    quo 
hon6restillic?  PHIL.  Sum- 
mo atque  ab  summis  uiris. 
11.  277-279. 


On  the  Comedies  of  Ben  Jonson.         yy 


general,  as  your  honour' d 
selves  to  me ;  for  whose 
safety  this  tongue  has  given 
warrant  to  his  honourable 
father,  the  count  Ferneze. 
You  conceive  me  ? 

Cam.     Ay,  signior. 

Max.  Well,  then  I  must  tell 
you  your  ransoms  be  to  re- 
deem him.  What  think 
you  ?  your  answer. 

Cam.  Marry,  with  my  lord's 
leave  here,  I  say,  signior, 

This  free  and  ample  offer  you 
have  made 

Agrees  well  with  your  honour, 
but  not  ours ; 

For  I  think  not  but  Chamont 
is  as  well  born 

As  is  Ferneze  ;  then,  if  I  mis- 
take not, 

He  scorns  to  have  his  worth 
so  underprised, 

That  it  should  need  an  adjunct 
in  exchange 

Of  any  equal  fortune.  Noble 
signior, 

I  am  a  soldier,  and  I  love 
Chamont ; 

Ere  I  would  bruise  his  estima- 
tion 

With  the  least  ruin  of  mine 
own  respect 

In  this  vile  kind,  these  legs 
should  rot  with  irons, 


This  body  pine  in  prison,  till 
the  flesh 


HE.     Filius   meus   illic  apud 

uos  seruit  captus  Alide  : 
Earn  si  reddis  mihi,  praeterea 

unum  nummum  ne  duis, 
Et  te  et  hunc  amittam  hinc — 

alio  pacto  abire  n6n  potes. 
TYN.  Optumum  atque  aequis- 

sumum    oras     6ptumusque 

hominum  £s  homo. 

11-  330-333. 
TYN.     Fdcit      officium      hie 

suom, 
Quom  tibist  confdssus  uerum  : 

quam  <quam>  uolui  s£dulo 
Mearn  nobilitatem    6ccultare 

et  g£nus  et  diuitias  meas, 
H£gio  :  nunc  quando  patriam 

et  libertatem  perdidi. 

11.  297-300. 
TYN.     Tam  ego  fui  ante  liber 

quam  gnatus  tuos  : 
Tam  mihi  quam  illi  libertatem 

hostilis  eripuit  manus. 

11.  310,  311. 
TYN.      Ego  patri    meo  £sse 

fateor  summas  diuitias  domi 
Meque    summo    g£nere   gna- 

tum  :  sed  te  optestor,  H6gio, 
Ne  tuom  animum  auariorem 

faxint  diuitiae  meae : 
N£  patri,  tametsi  unicus  sum, 

fdecere  uideatur  magis 
Me"   saturum   seruire  apud  te 

sumptu  et  uestitu  tuo 
P6tius  quam  illi  ubi  minume 

honestumst      mendicantem 

uiuere. 

11.  31S-323. 
TYN.     Dum  ne  6b  malefacta 

peream,  parui  existumo. 


/' 


The  Influence  of  Plautus 


Dropt  from  my  bones  in  flakes, 
like  wither'd  leaves, 

In  heart  of  autumn,  from  a 
stubborn  oak. 

Max.  Monsieur  Gasper,  (I 
take  it  so  is  your  name, )  mis- 
prise me  not ;  I  will  trample 
on  the  heart,  on  tbe  soul  of 
him  that  shall  say  I  will 
wrong  you  :  what  I  purpose 
you  cannot  now  know,  but 


you  shall  know,  and,  doubt 
not,  to  your  contentment. — 
Lord  Chamont,  I  will  leave 
you,  whilst  I  go  in  and 
present  myself  to  the  hon- 
ourable count ;  till  my  re- 
gression, so  please  you,  your 
noble  feet  may  measure  this 
private,  pleasant,  and  most 
princely  walk.  —  Soldiers, 
regard  them  and  respect 
them.  [Exit. 


Pac.  O  ver  bon  !  excellenta 
gull,  he  taka  my  lord  Cha- 
mont for  monsieur  Gaspra, 
and  monsieur  Gaspra  for  my 
lord  Chamont.  Oh  dis  be 
brave  for  make  a  me  laugha, 
ha,  ha,  ha !  O  my  heart 
tickla.  [Aside. 


Si  ego  hie  peribo,  ast  ille  ut 

dixit  11611  redit, 
At  erit  mi  hoc  factum  m6rtuo 

memorabile, 
<ME>  mdum  erum  captum 

ex  seruitute  atque  h6stibus 
Reduc6m    fecisse  liberum  in 

patriam  &d  patrem, 
Meumque    potius    me*    caput 

periculo 
Prae6ptauisse  quam  is  periret 

p6nere. 

11.  682-68S. 
HE.     Edepol  r£m  meam 
C6nstabiliui,  quom  illos  emi 

de  praeda  a  quaest6ribus  : 

At  etiam  dubitaui  hosce  homi- 
nes emerem  an  non  emerem 
diu. 

fego  appareb6  domi. 
Ad    fratrem    mod6    captiuos 

alios  inuis6  meos : 

11.  452-458. 
HE.     Sinito  ambulare,  si  foris 

si  intus  uolent : 
Sed   uti    adseruentur    magna 

diligentia. 

11.  114,  115. 
AR.     Immo  iste  eum  sese  ait 

qui  non  est  esse  et  qui  uer6st 

negat. 

1.  567. 
AR.  Quid  est  ? 

Vt    scelestus,    Hegio,     nunc 

iste  <te>  lud6s  facit. 
Nam  is  est  seruos  ipse  neque 

praetor  se  umquam  ei  seru6s 

fuit.  11.  578-580. 


On  the  Comedies  of  Ben  Jonson.        79 


Cam.     Ay,  but  your  lordship 
knows  not  what  hard  fate 

Might  have  pursued  us,  there- 
fore, howsoe'er, 

The  changing  of  our  names 
was  necessary, 

And  we  must  now  be  careful 
to  maintain 

This  error  strongly,  which  our 
own  device 

Hath  thrust  into  their  ignorant 
conceits ; 

For  should  we  (on  the  taste 
of  this  good  fortune) 

Appear     ourselves,     't  would 
both  create  in  them 

A  kind  of  jealousy,  and  per- 
chance invert 

Those  honourable  courses  they 
intend. 


•  Cha.     True,  my  dear  Gasper  ; 

but  this  hang-by  here 
Will,  at  one  time  or  other,  on 

my  soul, 
Discover  us.     A  secret  in  his 

mouth 
Is  like  a  wild  bird  put  into  a 

cage, 
Whose  door  no  sooner  opens, 

but  't  is  out, — 
But,  sirrah,  if  I  may  but  know 

thou  utter'  st  it — 
Pac.     Uttera  vat,  monsieur  ? 
Cha.  That  he  is  Gasper,  and 

I  true  Chamont. 
Pac.     O  pardonnez  moy,  'fore 

my  tongue  shall  put  out  de 


[PHIL.]     f  C6pia  est  ea  facitis 

nos  c6mpotes. 
Secede  hue  nunciam,   si   ui- 

dettir,  procul, 
Ne  arbitri  dicta  nostra  arbi- 

trari  queant 
Neu    permanet    palam    haec 

nostra  fall&cia. 
Nam     doli    non     doli    sunt, 

ni<si>  astu  colas  : 
S6d  malum  maxumum,  si  id 

palam  prouenit. 
Nam  si  eras  tu  mi  es  atque  ego 
me  tuom  esse  seruom  assim- 
ulo, 
Tamen    uiso    opust,     caut6st 
opus,  ut  hoc  sobrie  sineque 
arbitris 
Accurate  [hoc]  agatur,   docte 

et  diligenter. 
Tanta   incepta  res  est :   haud 

somniculose  hoc 
Agendumst.  TYN.  Ero  ut  me 
uol£s  esse.     PHIL.     Sp£ro. 
<TYN.  >    Nam  tu  nunc  uid£s 

pro  tu6  caro  capite 
Carum  6fferre  <m£>   meum 
caput  uilitati. 

11.  217-230. 
HE.    Libe>  captiuos  auis  ferae 

consimilis  est : 
Semel  fugiendi  si  datast  oc- 

casio, 
Satis  £st — numquam   postilla 
possis  prehdere. 

11.  116-118. 
AR.     H£gio,  uide  sis,  nequid 
tu     huic     t£mere     insistas 
credere : 


So 


The  Influence  of  Plautus 


secreta,  shall  breed  de  can- 
kra  in  ray  mouth. 


Cam.      Speak    not    so  loud, 
Pacue. 

Pac.    Foh  !  you  shall  not  hear 
de  fool,  for  all  your  long 

ear.     Regardez,   monsieur: 


you  be  Chamont,  Chamont 
be  Gaspra. 

Max.  True,  my  honourable 
lord,  that  Chamont  was  the 
father  of  this  man. 

Count  F.  O  that  may  be,  for 
when  I  lost  my  son, 

This  was  but  young,  it  seems. 

Fran.  Faith,  had  Camillo 
lived, 

He  had  been  much  about  his 
years,  my  lord. 

Count  F.  He  had  indeed  ! 
Well,  speak  no  more  of  him. 

Max.  Signior,  perceive  you 
the  error?  't  was  no  good 
office  in  us  to  stretch  the 
remembrance  of  so  dear  a 
loss.  Count  Ferneze,  let 
summer  sit  in  your  eye ; 
look  cheerfully,  sweet  count; 
will  you  do  me  the  honour 


Atque  ut  perspici6,   profecto 

ifim  aliquid  pugnae  £didit : 
Filium   tuom  qu6d  redimere 

se  ait,  id  ne  utiquam  mihi 

placet. 

11.  584-586. 
AR.  .  .  .  ego  te,  Philocrates 
False,  faciam  ut  u£rus  hodie 

reperiare  Tyndarus. 
Quid  mi  abnutas  ?   TYN.  Tibi 

ego  abunto? 

11.  609-611. 
AR.    Ex  me  audibis  uera  quae 

nunc  f&lsa  opinare,  H6gio. 

1.  619. 

Vt  istic  Philocrates  non  magis 
est  quam  aut  ego  aut  tu. 

1.  623. 

HE.    ...  is  quidem  huius  est 
pater  Philocrati. 

11.  974,  975- 
PHIL.  Qu&m  diu  id  factumst  ? 
STAL.        Hie    annus    incipit 
uic£nsumus. 

1.  980. 


ERG.      Gaiide. 
ego  gaudeam  ? 
ego    impero : 
modo. 


HE.  Quid 
ERG.  Quia 
age    gaud6 


On  the  Comedies  of  Ben  Jonson.        81 


to  confine  this  noble  spirit 
within  the  circle  of  your 
arms? 


Count  F.   Honour'd  Chamont, 
reach  me  your  valiant  hand ; 

I  could  have  wish'd  some  hap- 
pier accident 

Had  made  the  way  unto  this 
mutual  knowledge, 

Which  either  of  us  now  must 
take  of  other ; 

But  since  it  is  the  pleasure  of 
our  fates, 

That  we  should  thus  be  rack'd 
on  fortune's  wheel, 

Let  us  prepare  with  steeled 
patience 

To  tread  on  torment,  and  with 
minds  confirm'd, 

Welcome  the  worst  of  envy. 

Max.  Noble  lord,  't  is  thus. 
I  have  here,  in  mine  honour, 
set  this  gentleman  free, 
without  ransom  :  he  is  now 
himself,  his  valour  hath  de- 
served it,  in  the  eye  of  my 
judgment. —  Monsieur  Gas- 
per, you  are  dear  to  me  : 
fortuna  non  mutat  genus. 
But,  to  the  main  ; — if  it  may 
square  with  your  lordship's 
liking,  and  his  love,  I  could 
desire  that  he  were  now  in- 
stantly   employed  to    your 


HE.      t  Pol    maerores    mihi 

anteuortunt  gaudiis. 

[ERG.  Noli  irascier.] 
ERG.      lam  ego  ex  corpore 

exigam  omnis  maculas  mae- 

rorum  tibi : 
Gaude  audacter.  HE.  Gaudeo, 

etsi  nil  scio  quod  gaudeam. 
11.  839-842. 
ERG.      Cddo  manum.     HE. 

Manum  ?     ERG.     Manum, 

inquam  c£do. 

1.  838. 
HE.     Nunc  hoc  animum  ad- 

uorte,    ut    ea    quae    sentio 

pariter  scias. 
Filius   meus    illic    apud    uos 

spruit  captus  Alide  : 
Eum  si  reddis  mihi,  praeterea 

unum  nummum  ne  duis, 
Et  te  et  hunc  amittam  hinc  — 

alio  p&cto  abire  n6n  potes. 
TYN.  Optumum  atque  aequis- 

sumum     oras    6ptumusque 

hominum  €s  homo. 

11.  329-333- 


TYN.   fortuna  humana  fingit 

artatque  ut  lubet. 

1.  304. 
TYN.     Ne"  uereare  :  me6  peri- 

clo    huius     ego      experiar 

[uice]  fidem 


82 


The  Influence  of  Plautus 


noble  general  in  the  ex- 
change of  Ferneze  for  your- 
self! it  is  a  business  that 
requires  the  tender  hand  of 
a  friend. 


Count  F.     Ay,  and  it  would 
be  with  more  speed  effected, 
If  he  would  undertake  it. 


Max.  True,  my  lord. — Mon- 
sieur Gasper,  how  stand  you 
affected  to  this  motion  ? 

Cha.  My  duty  must  attend 
his  lordship's  will. 


Fr£tus  ingenio  eius,  quod  me 
esse  scit  sese  erga  beuiuo- 
lum. 

11-  349.  35o. 
HE.  Probus  6s  homo. 

1.  427. 
<TYN.  >    Nam  tu  nunc  uides 

pro  tu6  caro  capite 
Carum  6fferre  <m£>   meum 

caput  uilitati. 

11.  229,  230. 
TYN.     Faciam,  sed  te  id  oro, 

Hegio—  .  .  . 
Ausculta,  turn  scies. 
Ego  me  amitti  d6nicum  ille 

hue  rddierit  non  p6stulo  : 
V£rum,  te  quaeso,  [ut]  a£stu- 

matum  hunc  mihi  des  quern 

mittam  dd  patrem, 
Vt  is  homo  redimatur  illi. 

11-  337-34L 
TYN.    Hunc  mitte,  hie  fomne 

transactum  rdddet,  si  illuc 

u£nerit. 
N£que  quemquam  fideliorem 

n£que  quoi  plus  credat  potes 
Mittere    ad    eum    n6que    qui 

magis    sit    s£ruos    ex    sen- 

tentia, 
N^que   adeo   quoi  tu6m  con- 

credat  filium  hodie  audacius. 

11-  345-348. 

HE.     Mittam  equidem  istunc 

aestumatutn  tua  fide,  si  uis. 

1.  35i. 
HE.    At  quam  primum  fpo- 
teris  :  istuc  in  rem  utriquest 
mdxume. 

1.  398. 


On  the  Comedies  of  Ben  Jonson. 


8 


Max.  What  says  the  lord 
Chamont  ? 

Com.  My  will  doth  then  ap- 
prove what  these  have 
urged. 

Max.  Why  there  is  good  har- 
mony, good  music  in"  this. 
Monsieur  Gasper,  you  shall 
protract  no  time,  only  I  will 
give  you  a  bowl  of  rich  wine 
to  the  health  of  your  gen- 
eral, another  to  the  success 
of  your  journey,  and  a  third 
to  the  love  of  my  sword. 
Pass.  \_Exeunt. 

A.  Ill,  s.  3. 

Cha.  Sweet  Gasper,  I  am 
sorry  we  must  part ; 

But  strong  necessity  enforces 
it. 

Let  not  the  time  seem  long 
unto  my  friend, 

Till  my  return  ;  for,  by  our 
love  I  swear, 

(The  sacred  sphere  wherein 
our  souls  are  knit,) 

I  will  endeavour  to  effect  this 
business 

With  all  industrious  care  and 
happy  speed. 


Cam.  My  lord,  these  cir- 
cumstances would  come 
well 


HE.  Mittam  equidem  istunc 
adstumatum  tua.  fide,  si  uis. 
TYN.     Volo. 

Quam  citissume"  potest,  tarn 
hoc  fcedere  ad  factum  uolo. 

11-  351,  352. 

HE.     Di  uostram  fidem. 

H6minum  ingenium  liberale  ! 

ut  lacrumas  excutiunt  mihi  ! 

Videas  corde  amare  inter  se  : 

quantis  f  laudauit 
Suom    erum    seruos    c6nlau- 
dauit. 

11.  418-421. 


TYN.  .  .  .  inter  n6s  fuisse  in- 

genio  haud  discordabili, 
N£que  te  commeruisse  culpam 

neque  te  aduorsatum  mihi 
Beneque  ero  gessisse  morem 

in  tantis  aerumnis  tamen, 
Neque  med  umquam  deseru- 

isse  t€  aeque  factis  n£que 

fide 
R£bus  in  dubiis,  egenis. 

11.  402-406. 
PHIL.     Feci  ego  ista  ut  com- 

memoras  et    te   meminisse 

id  gratumst  mihi. 
fMerito  tibi  ea  euenerunt  a 

me  :  nam  nunc,  Philocrates, 
Si  ego   item   memorem   quae 

me  erga  multa  fecisti  bene, 
N6x  diem  adimat. 

11.  4I4-4I7- 
<PHIL.>     Philocrates, 

[PHIL.]  ut  adhuc  locorum 

feci,  faciam  s£dulo  : 


84 


The  Influence  of  Plautus 


To  one  less  capable  of  your 

desert 
Than  I ;  in  whom  your  merit  is 

confirm'd 
With    such    authentical    and 

grounded  proofs. 


Cha.  Well,  I  will  use  no 
more.     Gasper,  adieu. 

Cam.  Farewell,  my  honour'd 
lord. 

Cha.  Commend  me  to  the 
lady,  my  good  Gasper. 

Cam.  Ihadremember'dthat, 
had  not  you  urged  it. 

Cha.  Once  more  adieu,  sweet 
Gasper. 

Cam.     My  good  lord.    [Exit. 

Cha.  Thy  virtues  are  more 
precious  than  thy  name  ; 

Kind  gentleman,  I  would  not 
sell  thy  love. 

For  all  the  earthly  objects  that 
mine  eyes 

Have  ever  tasted.  Sure  thou 
art  nobly  born, 

However  fortune  hath  ob- 
scured thy  birth ; 

For  native  honour  sparkles  in 
thine  eyes. 

How  may  I  bless  the  time 
wherein  Chamont, 

My  honour'd  father,  did  sur- 
prise Vicenza, 

When  this  my  friend  (known 
by  no  name)  was  found, 

Being  then  a  child,  and  scarce 
of  power  to  speak, 


Vt  potissumum  quod  in  rem 
r£cte  conducdt  tuam 

Id  petam  f  id  persequarque 
c6rde  et  animo  atque  auri- 
bus.  11.  385-387. 


PHIL.     Bene  uale.  1.  452. 

TYN.     Bene  ambulato. 

Ibid. 


TYN.     Bene  ambulato. 


PHIL,.     Bene  uale. 


Ibid. 
Ibid. 


On  the  Comedies  of  Ben  Jonson.        85 


To  whom  my  father  gave  this 

name  of  Gasper, 
And  as  his  own  respected  him 

to  death  : 

Since   when    we    two    have 
shared  our  mutual  fortunes 

With   equal   spirits,  and,  but 

death's  rude  hand, 
No  violence  shall  dissolve  this 

sacred  band.  [Exit. 

A.  IV,  s.  2. 


Max.    Nay,  but  sweet  count. 

Count  F.  Away!  I '11  hear  no 
more; 

Never  was  man  so  palpably 
abused : — 

My  son  so  basely  marted,  and 
myself 

Am  made  the  subject  of  your 
mirth  and  scorn. 

Max.  Count  Ferneze,  you 
tread  too  hard  upon  my  pa- 
tience ;  do  not  persist,  I  ad- 
vise your  lordship. 

Count  F.  I  will  persist,  and 
unto  thee  I  speak  ; 

Thou,  Maximilian,  thou  hast 
injured  me. 

Pac.  By  gar,  me  shall  be 
hang    for    tella    dis   same ; 

me  tella  mademoiselle,  she 
tell  her  fadera. 


STAL,.  .  .  .  post  uos  indidis- 
tis  Tyndaro.  1.  9S4. 

AR.  Philocrates  iam  inde 
usque  amicus  fuit  mihi  a 
puer6  puer.  1.  645. 

TYN.  Quam  illi  quicum  una 
<a>  puero  aetatem  ex- 
€geram  ?  1.  720. 

PHIL.  .  .  .  nam  is  mecum  a 
puer6  puer 

B£ne  pudiceque  £ducatust  us- 
que ad  adulescentiam. 

11.  991,  992. 

PHIL.  .  .  .  hie  s£ruos,  qui  te 
huic  hiuc  quadrimum  sur- 
puit, 

Vendidit  patri  meo  te  s£x 
minis,    is  te"  mihi 

Paruolum  peculiarem  paruolo 
puero  dedit.      11.  1011-1013. 

HE.  Verba  mihi  data  esse 
uideo.  1.  651. 

HE.  fSatin  me  illi  hodie" 
scelesti  capti  ceperunt  dolo  ? 

Illic  seruom  se  dssimulabat, 
hie  sese  autem  liberum. 

11.  653,  654. 

Ita  mi  stolido  sursum  uorsum 
os  subleuere  offuciis.  1.  656. 


AR.  (aside)  Pro  di  inmor- 
tales :  nunc  ego  teneo,  nunc 
scio 

Quid  hoc  sit  negoti. 

11.  697,  69S. 


86 


The  Influence  of  Plautus 


Count  F.  The  true  Chatnont 
set  free,  and  one  left  here 

Of  no  descent,  clad  barely  in 
his  name ! 

Sirrah,  boy,  come  hither  and 
be  sure  you  speak  the  simple 
truth. 

Pac.  O  pardonnez  moy,  mon- 
sieur. 

Count  F.  Come,  leave  your 
pardons  and  directly  say, 

What  villain  is  the  same  that 
hath  usurp'd 

The  honour'd  name  and  per- 
son of  Chamont. 

Pac.  O,  monsieur,  no  point 
villain,  brave  chevalier, 
monsieur  Gasper. 

Count  F.     Monsieur  Gasper  ! 
On    what    occasion  did  they 

change  their  names, 
What  was  their  policy,  or  their 

pretext? 
Pac.    Me  canno  tell,  par  ma 

foy,  monsieur. 
Max.     My  honourable  lord  ! 
Count  F.    Tut,  tut,  be  silent. 

Fetch  forth  that  Gasper,  that 

lewd  counterfeit ; 
I  '11  make  him  to  your  face 

approve  your  wrongs. 


AR.     Sed    h6c  mihi  aegrest 

me    huic    dedisse    operam 

malam, 
Qui  nunc  propter  me  m£aque 

uerba  uinctus  est. 

11.  701,  702. 
HE.    Nuculeum  amisi,  reliqui 

pigneri  putamina.       1.  655. 


HE.  Eho,  die  mihi, 

Quis    illic    igitur    est?     AR. 

Quem  dudum    dixi  a  prin- 

cipi6  tibi. 
H6c  si  secus  rep£ries,  nullam 

causam  dico,  quin  mihi 
Et     parentum     et    libertatis 

apud  te  deliqui6  siet. 

11.  623-626. 
HE.     Satin    istuc   mihi   £x- 

quisitumst,  fuisse  hunc  ser- 

uom  in  Alide 


N£que  esse  hunc  Philocrat£m? 
11.  638,  639. 


HE.  C61aphe,  Cordali6, 

Corax, 
Ite  istinc,  [atque]  ecterte  lora. 
U.  657,  658. 


On  the  Comedies  of  Ben  Jonson.        87 


[Enter  Servants  with 
Camillo. 


Come     on,    false     substance, 

shadow  to  Chamont, 
Had  you  none   else  to  work 

upon  but  me  ? 
Was  I  your    fittest    project? 

well,  confess 
"What  you   intended   by  this 

secret  plot, 
And  by  whose  policy  it  was 

contrived. 
Speak  truth,  and  be  intreated 

courteously  ; 
But  double  with  me,  and  re- 
solve to  prove 
The  extremest  rigour  that  I 

can  inflict. 

Cam.    My  honour'd  lord,  hear 

me  with  patience  ; 
Nor  hope  of  favour,  nor  the 

fear  of  torment, 
Shall  sway  my  tongue  from 

uttering  of  truth. 

Act  IV,  s.  5. 


[Enter  Slaves  with  thongs 
for  Tyndarus. 
HE.       Inicite    huic    manicas 
—  w  —  mastigiae. 

1.  659. 

HE.   Sator  sartorque  scelerum 
et  messor  maxume. 

1.  661. 

HE.     f  At  ut  confidenter  mihi 
contra  astitit. 

1.  664. 

HE.     Quia  me"  meamque  r£m, 
quod  in  te  uno  fuit, 

Tuis    scelestis    falsidicis    fal- 
laciis 

f  Delacerauisti     deartuauisti- 
que  opes, 

Confecisti    omnis   r£s    ac  ra- 
tioned meas. 

Ita  mi  exemisti   Philocratem 
fallaciis. 

Ilium  esse  seruom  cr£didi,  te 
liberum  : 

Ita    u6smet    aiebatis     itaque 
nomina 

Inter  uos  permutastis.     TYN. 
Fateor  6mnia 

Facta  £sse  ita  ut  <tu>  dicis 
et  fallaciis 

Abisse  eum  abs  te  m£a  opera 
atque  astutia. 

11.  670-679. 


Note  similarity  in  following 


Count  F.  Speak  truth,  and 
be  intreated  courteously  ; 

But  double  with  me,  and  re- 
solve to  prove 


<HE.>  Si  eris  uerax,  tua 
£x  re  facies  fex  mala  melius- 
culam. 


88 


The  Influence  of  Plautus 


The  extremest  rigour  that  I 
can  inflict. 

Act  IV,  s.  5. 

Cam.  .  .  .  be  assured 
Chamont's  return  will  .  .  . 

Count  F.     Return  !  ay,  when  ? 

when  will  Chatnont  return  ? 
He  '11  come  to  fetch  you,  will 

he  ?  ay,  't  is  like  ! 
You  'd  have    me    think    so, 

that  's  your  policy. 
No,  no,  young  gallant,  your 

device  is  stale  ;         ■*. 
You  cannot  feed  me  with  so 

vain  a  hope. 
Cam.    My  lord,  I  feed  you  not 

with  a  vain  hope  ; 
I  know  assuredly  he  will  re- 
turn, 
And    bring    your    noble    son 

along  with  him. 
Max.    Ay,  I  dare  pawn  my 

soul  he  will  return. 
Count  F.     O    impudent    de- 
rision !  open  scorn  ! 
Intolerable  wrong  !   is  't  not 

enough 
That  you  have  play'd  upon  me 

all  this  while, 
But  still  to  mock  me,  still  to 

jest  at  me? 
Fellows,  away  with  him  :  thou 

ill-bred  slave, 
That     sett'st     no     difference 

'twixt  a  noble  spirit 
And  thy  own  slavish  humour, 

do  not  think 


R£cte  et  uera,  16quere. 

U-  959-96o,  also  1.  968  : 

Si  eris  uerax,   <€x>  tuis  re- 
bus feceris  meliusculas. 

TYN.  ...  Si  ille  hue  rebitet, 
sicut  confido  affore. 

1.  696. 

HE.       Nunc    c6rtumst    nulli 
p6sthac  quicquam  credere : 

Satis    sum    semel    deceptus. 
speraui  miser 

Ex    seruitute    me    exemisse 
filium : 

Ea  sp£s  elapsast. 

U.  756-759- 
HE.  netninis 

Miserere  certumst,    quia  mei 
miseret  n£minem. 

11.  764,  765. 
TYN.     At  unum  hoc  quaeso, 

si  hue  rebitet  Philocrates, 
Vt  mi  eius  facias  c6nueniundi 
c6piam. 

11.  747,  748. 

HE.     Ad  ilium  modum  sub- 
litum  6s  esse  mi  hodie  : 

Neque  id  perspicere  quiui. 

Quod  qu6m  scibitur,  f  per  ur- 
bem  inridebor. 

11.  783-785- 


HE.  (To  the  slaves),     ducite, 
Vbi  p6nderosas  crassas  capiat 

c6mpedes  : 
Inde  ibis  porro  in   latomias 

lapidarias. 


On  the  Comedies  of  Ben  Jonson.        89 


But  I  '11  take  worthy  ven- 
geance on  thee,  wretch. 

Cam.  Alas,  these  threats  are 
idle,  like  the  wind, 

And  breed  no  terror  in  a  guilt- 
less mind. 


Count  F.      Nay,   thou    shalt 
want  no  torture,  so  resolve  ; 

Bring  him  away. 

Cam.     Welcome  the  worst,  I 
suffer  for  a  friend, 

Your  tortures  will,  my  love 
shall  never,  end. 

Act.  IV,  s.  5. 

Count  F.  Tut,  Maximilian,  for 
your  honour'd  self 

I  am  persuaded  ;  but  no  words 
shall  turn 

The  edge    of   purposed  ven- 
geance on  that  wretch  : 

Come  bring  him  forth  to  exe- 
cution.— 

[Enter  Servants  with 
Camillo  bound. 


Ibi  quom  alii  octonos  lapides 

effodiunt,  nisi 
Cottidiano  s£squiopus  conf£- 

ceris, 
Sesc£ntoplago  n6men  indetur 

tibi. 

11.  721-726. 

TYN.     Periclum   uitae  meae" 

tuo  stat  periculo. 
Post  mortem  in  morte  nil  est 

quod  metuam  mali. 
Et  si  peruiuo  usque  ad  sum- 
mam  aetatem,  tamen 
Breue    spatiumst    perferundi 

quae  niinitas  mihi. 

11.  740-743. 
HE.  .  .  .  Nam   n6ctu    neruo 

uinctus  custodibitur, 
Int£rdius    sub    terra    lapides 

6ximet. 
Diu  ego  nunc  cruciabo,  n6n 

uno  absoluam  die. 

11.  729-73I- 
HE.     Abducite. 

1.  746. 

See  above — 11.  742,  743. 

HE.      Abducite    istum    actu- 

tum  ad  Hippolytum  fabrum, 
Iubete  huic  crassas  c6mpedes 

inpingier : 
Inde  extra  portam  ad  meum 

libertum  C6rdalum 
In  lapicidinas  facite  deductus 

siet. 
Atque  hunc  me  uelle  dicite 

ita  curarier, 


9o 


The  Influence  of  Plautus 


I  '11  hang  him  for  my  son,  he 

shall  not  'scape, 
Had  he  a  hundred  lives.     Tell 

me,  vile  slave, 
Think' st  thou  I  love  my  son  ? 

is  he  my  flesh  ? 
Is  he  my  blood,  my  life  ?  and 

shall  all  these 


Be  tortured  for  thy  sake,  and 

not  revenged? 
Truss  up  the  villain. 


Max.     My  lord,  there  is  no 

law  to  confirm  this 
action  :  't  is  dishonourable. 


Count  F.  Dishonourable, 
Maximilian  ! 

It  is  dishonourable  in  Cha- 
mont : 

The  hour  of  his  prefixed  re- 
turn is  past, 

And  he  shall  pay  for  it. 


Nequi  deterius  huic  sit  quam 
quoi  p£ssumest. 

11.  733-733- 
TYN.     Nam    c6gitato,   siquis 

hoc  gnat6  tuo 
Tuos  seruos  faxit,  qualem  ha- 

beres  gratiam  ? 
Emitteresne    n£cne    eum  se- 

ru6m  manu  ? 
Ess£tne  apud  te  is  seruos  ac- 

ceptissumus  ? 
Resp6nde.     HE.     Opinor. 

11.  711-715- 
HE.    Abducite. 

1.  746. 

HE.     Peristis,  nisi  iam  hunc 
€  conspectu  abducitis. 

1.  749- 


AR.  Per  de6s  atque  homines 
£go  te  obtestor,  H£gio, 

Ne  tu  istunc  hominem  p£r- 
duis.     HE.     Curabitur. 

11.  727,  728. 

TYN.  Sed  quid  negotist? 
quam  6b  rem  suscens£s 
mihi? 

HE.  Quia  me"  meamque  r£tn, 
quod  in  te  un6  fuit, 

Tuis  scelestis  falsidicis  falldciis 

•j-Delacerauisti  deartuauistique 
opes, 

Conf£cisti  omnis  r£s  ac  ra- 
tioned meas. 

Ita  mi  £xemisti  Philocratem 
fallaciis. 

11.  669-674. 


On  the  Comedies  of  Ben  Jonson.        91 


Cant.     My  lord,  my  lord, 
Use    your    extremest    ven- 
geance ;  I  '11  be  glad 

To  suffer  ten  times  more  for 
such  a  friend. 

Count  F.  Now  they  have 
young  Chamont,  Christo- 
phero, 

Surely  they  never  -will  restore 
my  son. 


Count  F.    O  thou  base  wretch, 

I  '11  drag  thee  through  the 

streets ; 
And  as  a  monster  make  thee 

wonder'd  at. — 
Enter  Balthasar.'] 
How  now?        [Balthasar 

whispers  with  him. 
Count  F.     How  !    my  son  re- 

turn'd  !  O  Maximilian, 
Francisco,  daughters  !  bid  him 

enter  here. 

Dost  thou  not  mock  me  ? — 


O,  my  dear  Paulo,  wel- 


come. 


Cha.     Is  this  the  true  Italian 

courtesy  ? 
Ferneze,   were    you    tortured 

thus  in  France? 
By  my  soul's  safety — 


TYN.  Optumest : 

At    erum   seruaui,   quem    se- 

ruatum  gaudeo, 
Quoi  me'  custodem  addiderat 

erus  mai6r  meus. 

11.  706-708. 
AR.      Sed  ubi  is  nunc   est? 

HE.     Vbi  ego  minume  at- 

que  ipsus  se  uolt  maxume. 
Turn  igitur  ego  deruncinatus, 

deartuatus  sum  miser 
Huius    scelesti    t£chinis,   qui 

me   ut  lubitumst    ductauit 

dolis.  11.  640-642. 

TYN.     Vis  ha£c  quidem  her- 

clest,  6t  trahi  et  trudi  simul. 

1.  750. 


Enter  Ergasilus.'] 

HE.  Vemt?  ERG. 

Nai  rdv  ~2iyviav. 

<HE.>    Certon?   ERG.  Nai 

rdv     <Ppov6ivo5va.        HE. 

Vide  sis—  11.  882,  883. 

HE.     Die,  bonan  fide  tu  mi 

istaec  uerba  dixisti  ?    ERG. 

Bona.  1.  890. 

HE.     Ioui  deisque  ag6  gratids 

merito  mdgnas, 
Quom  te  redducem  tuo  patri 

reddiderunt.         11.  922,  923. 
HE.     Nolim  suscensere,  quod 

ego  iratus  ei  feci  male. 
PHILOCR.  Quidfecisti?  HE. 

In  lapicidinas    conpeditum 

c6ndidi, 


Q2 


The  Influence  of  Plautus 


Count  F.      My   most   noble 
lord.  [Kneels. 


I  do  beseech  your  lordship. 
Cha.     Houour'd  count, 
Wrong  not  your  age  with  flex- 
ure of  a  knee. 


I  do  impute  it  to  those  cares 
and  griefs 

That  did  torment  you  in  your 
absent  son. 

Count  F.  O  worthy  gentle- 
man, I  am  ashamed 


That  my  extreme  affection  to 

my  son 
Should  give  my  honour  so  un- 

cured  a  maim  ; 
But    my    first   son    being   in 

Vicenza  lost — 
Cha.     How!  in  Vicenza!  lost 

you  a  son  there  ? 
About  what  time,  my  lord  ? 
Count  F.     O,  the  same  night 
Wherein    your    noble    father 

took  the  town. 
Cha.     How  long  's  that  since, 

my  lord,  can  you  remember  ? 

Count  F.    'T  is  now  well  nigh 
upon  the  twentieth  year. 

Cha.    And  how  old  was   he 
then? 


Vbi    resciui    mihi    data    esse 

ue>ba.      PHILOCR.      Vae 

miser6  mihi : 
Pr6pter  meum  caput  labores 

h6mini     euenisse    6ptumo. 

HE.    At  ob  earn  rem  mihi  li- 

bellam    pr6  eo   argenti  ne* 

duis : 
Grdtiis  a  me  ut  sit  liber   [a] 

ducito.     PHILOCR.      Ede- 

pol,  Hegio, 
Facis    benigne.     s£d    quaeso 

hominem  ut  iubeas  arcessi. 


HE.     Licet. 
Vbi  |  estis,  uos?  ite  actutum, 

Tyndarum  hue  arc£ssite. 

11.  943-950- 

See  above,  1.  942  sqq. 

HE.         pe>didi  unum  filium, 

Puerum     quadrimum     quern 

mihi  seruos  surpuit, 
Neque  eum  seruom  umquam 

r£pperi  neque  filium : 
Maior  potitus  h6stiumst.  quod 

hoc  est  scelus? 

11-  759-762. 
HE.  Hie  gnatum  meum 

Tuo  patri  ait  se  uendidisse  s£x 

minis  in  Alide. 
PHIL.  Quam  diu  id  factumst  ? 

STAL.     Hie   annus  incipit 

uic£nsumus. 
PHIL.  Falsa  memorat.  STAL. 

Aut  ego  aut  tu :  nam  tibi 

quadrimulum 
Tu6s  pater  peculiarem  paruolo 

puer6  dedit. 


On  the  Comedies  of  Ben  Jonson.        93 


Count  F.    I  cannot  tell ; 
Between  the  years  of  three  and 
four,  I  take  it. 

Cha.     How  did  you  call  your 

son,  my  lord  ? 
Count  F.     Camillo,  lord  Cha- 

mont. 
Cha.    Then,  no  more  my  Gas- 
per, but  Camillo. 
Take  notice  of  your  father. — 

Gentlemen, 
Stand  not  amazed ;  here  is  a 

tablet, 
With  that  inscription,  found 

about  his  neck, 
That   night  and  in  Vicenza, 

by  my  father, 
Who,    being    ignorant    what 

name  he  had, 

Christen'd  him  Gasper  ;  nor 
did  I  reveal 

This  secret,  till  this  hour,  to 
any  man. 

Count  F.  O  happy  revela- 
tion !  O  blest  hour  ! 

O  my  Camillo  ! 

Count  F.     O,  my  boy. 

Forgive  thy  father's  late  aus- 
terity. 

A.  V,  s.  4. 


PHIL,.     Quid  erat  ei  nom£n  ? 

si  uera  dicis,   memoradum 

mihi. 
STAL.    Padgnium  uocitatust : 

post  uos  indidistis  Tyndaro. 
11.  978-984. 
PHIL.     Salue,  Tyndare. 

1.  1009. 
PHIL.     At  nunc  liber  in  diui- 

tias  faxo  uenies  :  nam  tibi 
P&ter  hie  est :  hie  s£ruos,  qui 

te  huic  hinc  quadrimum  sur- 

puit, 

Vendidit    patri    meo    te    sex 

minis,  is  t€  mihi 
Paruolum  peculiarem  p&ruolo 

puero  dedit. 
tlllic    indicium    f£cit   :  nam 

hunc  ex  Alide  hue  reduci- 

mus.  11.  1010-1014. 

PHIL.     Nunc  tibi  pater  hie 

est.  hie  fur  est  tu6s  qui  par- 

uom  hinc  te  abstulit. 

1.  1018. 
HE.    Et  miser  sum  et  f6rtuna- 

tus,  t-si  uera  dicitis.     1.  993. 


HE.      <0>    salue,   £xoptate 

gnate  mi.  1.  1006. 

HE.     E6    miser    sum,    quia 

male    illi    f£ci,    si   gnatust 

meus. 
Eheu,  quom  ego  plus  minusue 

feci  quam    <me>    aequ6m 

fuit. 
Quod  male  feci,  crucior  :  modo 

si  infectum  fieri  p6ssiet. 

11.  994-996- 


94  The  Influence  of  Plautus 

The  Captivi  iutroduegs  no  female  characters,  yet  in 
tenderness  and  amiability  it  is  not  surpassed  by  any 
other  Plautine  comedy.  It  is  not  marred  by  the  blem- 
ishes and  vulgarities,  which  the  popular  fancy  craved. 
The  absence  of  these  characteristics  is  deemed  an  excel- 
lence, even  by  the  author  of  the  prologue  and  epilogue. 
But  the  fundamental  moral  elements  are  of  the  highest 
class,  illustrating  especially  parental  love  and  faithful 
friendship.  These  elements  impart  to  the  comic  frame- 
work and  structure  touches  which  soften  and  temper  its 
exuberant  mirth.  The  pathetic  and  the  comic  elements 
are  exquisitely  intermingled. 

Jonson  has  admirably  caught  and  imitated  this  spirit, 
largely  by  retaining  the  simplicity,  directness,  and 
spontaneity  of  the  Plautine  play.  He  was  guided, 
perhaps,  by  the  reflection  of  Hegio  in  the  Captivi, 

HE.    N6n  ego  omnino  lucrum  omne  esse  utile  homini  existumo: 
Scio  ego,  multos  iam  lucrum  lutulentos  homines  reddidit. 
Est  etiam  ubi  profdeto  damnum  praestet  facere  qu&m  lucrum. 
Odi  ego  aurum  :  multa  multis  saepe  suasit  perperam. 

11.  325-328. 

to  make  a  selection  of  that  play  (2*.  e.,  the  Atdularia) 
whose  plot  would  illustrate,  in  its  most  repulsive  form, 
a  love  for  gold.  It  was  a  plot  which,  interwoven  with 
the  Captivi,  would  afford  a  perfect  contrast,  and  give 
the  light  and  shade  necessary  to  a  well  constructed 
comedy.  The  Captivi  was  considered  by  Eessing  to  be 
the  best  piece  which  had  ever  been  presented  on  the 
stage. 

"  Richtig  ist,"  says  Mr.  von  Reinhardstoettner, 
' '  dass  Ben  Jonson  die  Figur  der  Rachel  neu  geschaffen 
hat, ' '  '  and  he  quotes  Gifford  as  saying  :  ' '  The  charac- 

1  Reinhardstoettner,  Karl  von,  Plautus,  18S6,  p.  350. 


On  the  Comedies  of  Ben  Jonson.        95 

ter  of  Rachel  is  exquisitely  drawn  :  she  is  gentle  and 
modest,  yet  steady,  faithful  and  affectionate.     Nothing 
less  than  this  was  requisite  to  justify  the  number  of  her 
admirers,  Onion,  Christophero,  Angelo,  Paulo  and  the 
count,  his  father  ;  all,  in  short,  who  see  her,  solicit  her      f< 
love.     Jonson  derived  no  assistance  from  Plautus  in  this.     . -, 
part  of  his  plot ;  for  the  young  lady  who  corresponds  to]     < 
Rachel  is  not  seen  at  all,  nor  indeed  heard  except  on' 
one  occasion.      One  pretty  trait  of  her,  however,  is 
given  by  the  L,ar  '  (v.  23)  : 

'  LAR  FAMILIARIS  :  ea  mihi  cottidie 

Aut  ture  aut  uino  aut  aliqui  semper  supplicat  : 
Dat  mihi  coronas.'  " 

This_is^q4rh^e_Jrue_asJ^  the_young 

wqmanjn  the ^k^thie_comedyiinakingiher  appearance 
on^he  stage.  It  is  well_j£nownJthat„ there  is^not^the 
slightest  tracethatthe  honorable  daughteiLof  an_honor-  Y~ 
able  citizen  ever  app^ajrs_on_the_stage^.in_^ny ^of^the 
Plautine.  pl^y^  The^women  who  appeared  on  the 
stage,  in  lihe  time  of  Plautus,  belonged  to  the.~mere- 
trix  class.  The  custom  touched  closely  the  sentiments 
of  the  old  Romans  in  this  respect,  as  may  be  seen 
in  the  following  passage  from  the  E.  : 

PE.     Caue  siris  cum  filia 
Mea  copulari  hanc  neque  couspicere.  iam  tenes  ? 
In  a£diculam  istanc  s6rsum  concludi  uolo  : 
Diu6rtunt  mores  uirgini  longe  ac  lupae. 
AP.     Docte  €t  sapienter  dicis.  num  <quam>  nimis  potest 
Pudicitiam  quisquam  sua^  seruare  filiae. 

11.  400-405. 

But,  although  I  accept  this,   I  cannot  agree  with 
Gifford  in  the  statement  that  Jonson  had  no  assistance 

1  Ed.  Gifford,  Ben  Jonson,  VI,  409.     Cf.  Reinhardstoettner, 
Karl  von,  Plautus,  1886,  p.  350,  Note  2. 


96  The  Influence  of  Plautus 

from  Plautus  in  this  part  of  his  plot.  The  character  of 
Rachel  corresponds  to  the  picture  brought  to  our  minds 
by  the  words  of  the  Lar  in  the  Prologue,  quoted  above, 
and  the  words  of  Megadorus  : 

MEG.  u£rba  ne  facias,  soror. 

Scio  quid  dictura's  :  banc  esse  pauperem  :  haec  pauper  placet. 

Au.     11.  173,  174. 
MEG.     Filiam  tu&m  mi  uxorem  p6sco  :  1.  219. 

EVC.  At  nil  est  dotis  quod  dem.    MEG.   Ne"  duas. 

Dum  modo  mordta  recte  ueniat,  dotatast  satis. 

11.  238,  239. 

Again  the  first  sentiment  uttered  by  Rachel  in  The 
<mase  is  Altered, 

Rack.     No  !  is  your  presence  nothing? 

I  shall  want  that,  and  wanting  that,  want  all  ; 

For  that  is  all  to  me.  A.  I,  s.  3. 

is  strikingly  like  the  following  in  the  Am.  of  Plautus  : 

AL.     Sola  hie  mihi  nunc  uideor,  quia  llle  hinc  ab£st,  quern  ego 

am6  praeter  6mnes. 
Plus  aegri  ex  abitu  uiri  quam  ex  aduentu  uoluptatis  cepi  : 

11.  640,  641. 

' '  Jonson  hatte  den  Prolog  des  L,ar  f amiliaris  im  Sinne, 
als  er  die  einleitenden  Worte  seinem  Jaques  de  Brie 
in  den  Mund  legte.  Er  besitzt  eine  wunderschone 
Tochter  : 

'  But  now,  this  maid  is  but  supposed  my  daughter  ; 
For  I  being  steward  to  a  lord  of  France, 
Of  great  estate  and  wealth,  called  lord  Chamont, 
He  gone  into  the  wars,  I  stole  his  treasure  ; 
And  this  his  daughter,  being  but  two  years  old, 
Because  it  loved  me  so,  that  it  would  leave 
The  nurse  herself,  to  come  into  mine  arms.'  "  ' 

The  Case  is  Altered,  A.  II,  s.  1. 

1  Reinhardstoettner,  Karl  von,  Plautus,  1S86,  p.  347. 


On  the  Comedies  of  Ben  Jonson.        97 

Whalley  says  of  this  character  l  : 
'  The  character  of  Jaques  is  formed  upon  that  of 
Euclio  in  the  Aulularia  of  Plautus  ;  and  is  drawn  with 
that  masterly  expression  which  distinguishes  the  works 
of  Jonson.  The  scene  between  Christophero  and 
Jaques,  and  the  following  scene  with  the  Count,  is 
copied  from  what  passes  between  Euclio  and  Mega- 
dorus,  but  with  so  high  an  improvement,  that  it  de- 
termines the  palm  of  applause  in  favour  of  our  author. 
The  original  here  is  : 

'Non  temerariumst,  ubi  diues  blande  appellat  pauperem.'  "  ■ 


Note  the  following  parallel  passages  in  The  Case  is 
Altered  and  the  Ati  : 


Enter Jaques. ~\ 

Pau.  Here  comes  her  father. 
—  How  dost  thou,  good 
Jaques  ? 


Ang.     God  save  thee,  Jaques  ! 

Taq.    What  should  this  mean  ? 

— Rachel !  open  the  door. 
[Exit. 
Ang.     S'blood  how  the  poor 

slave     looks     [aghast],     as 

though 
He  had  been  haunted  by  the 

spirit,  Lar  ; 


MEG.    Ego  conueniam  Evicli- 

onem,  si  domist. 
Sed  eccum  * : 

11.  176,  177. 

MEG.     Saluos  atque  f6rtuna- 

tus,  Euclio,  semper  sies. 
EVC.   Diteament,  Megad6re. 
11.  182,  183. 
EVC.     Sed  quid  ego  apertas 

aedis  nostras  conspicor  ? 
Et  strepitust  intus.  numnam 
ego  compilor  miser  ? 

11.  388,  389. 


1  Reinhardstoettner,  Karl  von,  Plautus,  1886,  p.  348,  Note  1. 

2  Whalley.     Cf.  Ed.  Gifford,  Ben  Jonson,  VI,  367. 


98 


The  Influence  of  Plautus 


Pau.     I  muse  be  spake  not ; 
Belike  he  was  amazed,  coming 

so  suddenly, 
And  unprepared. — Well,  let  us 

go- 

A.  I,  s.  I. 


MEG.  sed  ubi  bi[n]c 

£st  bomo  ? 
Abiit    neque    me     certiorem 

fecit. 

11.  244,  245. 


' (  Der  zweite  Akt  fiihrt  uns  in  Jaques'  Haus.  Wir 
lernen  in  dem  Monologe  einen  verbitterten  Geizhals 
kennen,  der  unter  der  Marke  eines  stadtbekannten 
Bettlers  seinen  Reichtum  verbirgt. ' '  ' 


Enter  Jaques.'] 

So,   now   enougb,   my   beart, 
beat  now  no  more  ; 


At  least  for  this  affright.   What 

a  cold  sweat 
Flow'd  on  my  brows,  and  over 

all  my  bosom  ! 
Had  I  not  reason  ?  to  behold 

my  door 

Beset  with  unthrifts,  and  my- 
self abroad  ? 

Why,  Jaques  !  was  there  noth- 
ing in  the  house 


Worth  a  continual  eye,  a  vigi- 
lant thought, 

Whose  head  should  never  nod, 
nor  eyes  once  wink  ? 


EVC.  Nunc  deYaecato  demum 
animo  egredi6r  domo, 

Postquam  perspexi  salua  esse 
intus  6mnia. 

11.  79,  80. 

EVC.  Di  me  seruant,  salua 
re<s>  est  :  fsaluum  est,  si- 
quid  non  perit. 

Nimis  male  timui.  prius  quam 

intro  redi<i>,  exanimatus 

fui.  11.  207,  208. 

See  above,  11.  388,  3S9. 

STA.  Quippini  ? 

Ego  intus  seruem  ?  an  n£quis 
aedes  auferat  ? 

Nam  hie  apud  nos  nil  est  aliud 
quaesti  furibus  : 

Ita  inani<i>s  sunt  6ppletae 
atque  araneis. 

11.  81-84. 

STA.  Peruigilat  noctes  t6tas : 
turn  autem  int£rdius 

Quasi  claudus  sutor  d6mi 
sedet  tot6s  dies. 

11.  72,  73. 


1  Reinhardstoettner,  Karl  von,  Plautus,  1886,  p.  347. 


On  the  Comedies  of  Ben  Jonson.        99 


Look  on  thy  coat,  my 
thoughts,  worn  quite  thread- 
bare, 

That  time  could  never  cover 
with  a  nap, 

And  by  it  learn,  never  with 
naps  of  sleep 

To  smother  your  conceits  of 
that  you  keep. 

But  yet,  I  marvel  why  these 
gallant  youths 

Spoke  me  so  fair,  and  I 
esteem'd  a  beggar  ! 


The  end  of  flattery  is  gain,  or 
lechery : 


If  they  seek  gain  of  me,  they 

think  me  rich  ; 
But  that  they  do  not :  for  their 

other  object, 


'T  is  in  my  handsome  daugh- 
ter, if  it  be : 


EVC.    Nam  nunc  quom  celo 

s£dulo  omnis,  ne"  sciant, 
Omnes  uidentur  scire  et  me 

benignius 
Omn£s  salutant  quam  saluta- 

bdnt  prius. 
Adeunt,   consistunt,   copulan- 

tur  dexteras  : 
Rogitant  me,  ut  ualeam,  quid 

agam,  quid  rerum  geram. 

11.  113-117- 


EVC.     Non  temerariumst,  ubi 

diues  blande  appellat  pau- 

perem. 
lam  illic  homo  aurum  scit  me 

habere,  eo  me  salutat  blan- 

dius. 

11.  184,  185. 
EVC.     Nunc  petit,  quom  p61- 

licetur :     inhiat    aurum    ut 

d£uoret. 

1.  194. 
N£mini  cred6  qui  large  bl&n- 

dust  diues  pauperi. 
Vbi  manum  iuicit  benigne,  ibi 

6nerat  aliquam  zatniam. 

11.  196,  197. 
EVC.     Virginem  habeo  grdn- 

dem,  dote  cassam  atque  in- 

locabilem, 


IOO 


The  Influence  of  Plautus 


Well,  then,  it  is  for  her  ;  ay, 
't  is  sure  for  her  : 

That  I  might  live  alone  once 

with  my  gold  ! 
O,   't  is  a  sweet  companion  ! 

kind  and  true  ; 


.     .     But  I  must  abroad. - 
Rachel  ! 


N6que  earn  queo  locare  quoi- 

quam. 

11.  191,  192. 

These  two  lines  are  probably 
taken  from  the  speech  of 
Euclio  on  the  recovery  of  his 
gold  (found  in  the  Supplement 
of  certain  old  editions.  It  was 
written  by  Antonius  Codrus 
Urceus,  a  learned  scholar  and 
professor  at  Bologna. 
EVC.   Nunc  deYaecato  d£mum 

animo  egredi6r  domo, 

Postquam  perspexi  salua  esse 

intus  6mnia. 

11.  79,  80. 

"  Da  er  sich  von  Hause  entfernen  muss,  giebt  er 
seiner  Tochter  Rachel  Verhaltungsmassregeln.  Sie 
soil  das  Thor  offen  lassen  und  laut  sprechen,  als  seien 
L,eute  im  Hause,  um  Diebe  ferae  zu  halten.  Mit  Kuklio 
(v.  91)  befiehlt  er  : 

'  Put  out  the  fire,  kill  the  chimney's  heart, 
That  it  may  breathe  no  more  than  a  dead  man.'  "  ' 

Enter  Rachel, ,]  Rachel  is  represented  here  by 

Sty  phyla. 
EVC.     Redi    nunciam    intro 

atque    intus    serua.      STA. 

Quippini?  1. 81. 

EVC.     Abi  intro,  occlude  ian- 

uam  :  iam  ego  hie  ero. 
Caue  quemquam   alienum  in 

a£dis  intromiseris.  11.  89,  90. 
EVC.     Prof£cto  in  aedis  meas 

me  absente  neminem 
Volo  intromitti.     atque  £tiam 

hoc  praedic6  tibi, 

1  Reinhardstoettner,  Karl  von,  Plautus,  1886,  p.  347. 


Rack.     What  is  your  pleasure, 

sir? 

Jaq.     Rachel,  I  must  abroad. 

Lock  thyself  in,  but  yet  take 

out  the  key ; 
That  whosoever  peeps   in   at 

the  key-hole 
May  yet  imagine  there  is  none 

at  home. 


On  the  Comedies  of  Ben  Jonson.       101 


Rach.     I  will,  sir. 

Jaq.     But  hark  thee,  Rachel : 
say  a  thief  should  come, 

Put  out  the  fire,  kill  the  chim- 
ney's heart, 

That  it  may  breathe  no  more 
than  a  dead  man  ; 

The  more  we  spare,  my  child, 
the  more  we  gain. 

[Exeunt. 

A.  II,  s.  i. 


Si  B6na  Fortuna  u6niat,  ne 
intromiseris.  11.  98-100. 

STA.  Nam  hie  apud  nos  nil  est 
aliud  quaesti  furibus.    1.  83. 

EVC.  Nam  si  ignis  uiuet,  tu 
€xtinguere  extemp<u>lo. 

1-93- 
EVC.     Deinde  £gomet  mecum 

cogitare  interuias 
Occepi :  festo  die"  siquid  pro- 

degeris, 
Profesto  egere  liceat,  nisi  pe- 

p£rceris. 
Postquam  hanc  rationem  u£n- 

tri  cordique  £didi, 
Acc£ssit  animus  ad  meam  sen- 

t£ntiam.  11.  379-383. 

' '  Die  schone  Rachel  hat  tmterdessen  an  dem  Haus- 
hofmeister  des  Grafen,  Christophero,  einen  neuen 
Verehrer  gewonnen,  und  der  Graf  ist  mit  seiner  Wer- 
bung  ganzlich  einverstanden,  nich  ahnend,  dass  sein 
Sohn  Paolo  Rachel  de  Brie  liebt. '  Der  dritte  Akt  spielt 
wieder  in  Jaques'  Haus  und  damit  in  der  Aulularia.'1 

' '  Kaum  sieht  Jaques  Leute,  so  eilt  er  ins  Haus  : 

'  He  has  been  at  my  door,  he  has  been  in, 
In  my  dear  door  ;  pray  God  my  gold  be  safe  ! ' 

Wie  Euklio  kommt  er  alsbald  wieder  befriedigt  zuriick : 
'  'T  is  safe,  't  is  safe,  they  have  not  robb'd  my  treasure.' 

Bei  Christopheros  werbung  vermutet  er,  wie  Euklio 
dem  Megadorus  gegeniiber,  dass  er  kenntnis  von 
seinem  Scbatz  habe  : 

'  My  gold  is  in  his  nostrils,  he  has  smelt  it,' 

1  Reinhardstoettner,  Karl  von,  Plautus,  1886,  p.  348. 

2  Ibid. 


102 


The  Influence  of  Plautus 


und  freudig  eilt  er,  sowie  er  den  Freier  angebracht 
hat,  zu  seinem  Gelde: 

'  So  !  he  is  gone ;  would  all  were  dead  arid  gone, 
That  I  might  live  with  my  dear  gold  alone.'  "  ' 


Jaq.   .    .    .   pray  God  my  gold 
be  safe ! 

.    .    .   Rachel !  ho,  Rachel ! 

Chris.    God  save  you,  honest 
father. 


Jaq.    Rachel !  odslight,  come 
to  me  ;  Rachel !  Rachel ! 

[Exit. 


Chris.  Now  in  God's  name 
what  ails  he?  this  is  strange! 

He  loves  his  daughter  so,  I  '11 
lay  my  life 

That  he's  afraid,  having  been 
now  abroad, 

I  come  to  seek  her  love  un- 
lawfully. 

Re-enter  /agues.'] 

Jaq.  'T  is  safe,  't  is  safe, 
they  have  not  robb'd  my 
treasure.  [Aside. 

Chris.  Let  it  not  seem  offen- 
sive to  you,  sir. 

1  Reinhardstoettner,  Karl 


EVC.  Di  me  seruant,  salua 
re  <s>  est :  f  saluum  est,  si- 
quid  non  perit.  1.  207. 

EVC.  .  .  .  heus,  Staphyla,  te 
uoco.  1.  269. 

MEG.  Saluos  atque  f6rtuna- 
tus,  Euclio,  semper  sies. 

EVC.  Di  te  ament,  Megad6re. 
11.  182,  183. 

EVC.  Ei  miser6  mihi. 

Aurum  mi  intus  harpaga- 
tumst.  nunc  hie  earn  rem 
u61t,  scio, 

M£cum  adire  ad  pactionem : 

uexum  interuisam  domum. 

[Exit. 

11.  200-202. 

MEG.    Quoabis?  .  .  .  1.  203. 

MEG.    Cr£do      edepol,      ubi 

mentionem   ego   fecero   de 

filia, 
Mi  ut  despondeat,  sese  a  me 

d£rideri  relntur. 
N6que  illo  quisquamst  alter 

hodie  ex  paupertate  parcior. 
11.  204-206. 

EVC.  .  .  .  salua  re<s>est : 
f saluum  est,  siquid  non 
perit.  1.  207. 

MEG.  Quid  tu?  r£cten  at- 
que ut  uis  ual£s  ? 

von,  Plautus,  1886,  p.  348. 


On  the  Comedies  of  Ben  Jonson.       io- 


Jaq.    Sir  !  God '  s  my  life,  sir  ! 
sir !  call  me  sir  !       {Aside. 


Chris.    Good  father,  hear  me. 

MEG.  Da  mi  operam  parum- 
per,  si  operaest,  Euclio,  id 
quod  te  uolo 

De"  communi  re  appellare  mea 
€t  tua.  11.  199.  20°. 

Jaq.     You  are  most  welcome, 

sir ; 
I   meant  almost :  and  would 

your  worship  speak, 
Would  you  abase  yourself  to 

speak  to  me? 


Chris.  'T  is  no  abasing,  father; 

my  intent 
Is  to  do  further  honour  to  you, 

sir, 
Than  only  speak  ;  which  is,  to 

be  your  son. 

Jaq.     My  gold  is  in  his  nos- 
trils, he  has  smelt  it ; 

He  knows  my  gold,  he  knows 
of  all  my  treasure —  [Aside. 


EVC.  {aside).  N6n  temerar- 
iumst,  ubi  diues  blande  ap- 
pellat  pauperem. 

11.  183, 184. 
MEG.     Ain  tu  te  ualere  ? 

1.  186. 
EVC.     Nemini  cred6  qui  large 
blandust  diues  pauperi. 


Vbi  manum  inicit  benigne,  ibi 
onerat  aliquam  zamiam. 

11.  196, 197. 

EVC.  H6ia,  Megadore,  haud 
decorum  facinus  tuis  factis 
facis.  1.  220. 

EVC.  Venit  hoc  mi,  Mega- 
d6re,  in  men  tern,  t6<d> 
esse  hominem  diuitem, 

Factiosum,  me-  item  esse 
hominem  pauperum  paup£r- 
rutnum. 

11.  226,  227. 

MEG.    Quoniam  tu  me  et  ego 

te  qualis  sis  scio  : 
Quae"  res  recte  uortat  mihique 

tibique  tuaeque  filiae, 
Filiam  tuam  mi  uxorem  p6s- 

co  :  promitte  hoc  fore. 

11.  217-219. 
EVC.   {aside).      Aurum    huic 

olet.  1.  216. 

EVC.  {aside).    lam  illic  homo 

aurum   scit   me  habere,   eo 

m£  salutat  blandius. 

1.  185. 
EVC.     Cr£do  ego  ilium  iam 

in<d>audisse    mihi     esse 

thensaumm  domi  : 


io4 


The  Influence  of  Plautus 


How  do  you  know,  sir? 
whereby  do  you  guess  ? 

Chris.  At  what,  sir?  What 
is  it  you  mean  ? 

Jaq.     I  ask, 

An't  please  your  gentle  wor- 
ship, how  you  know — 

I  mean,  how  I  should  make 
your  worship  know 

That  I  have  nothing — 

To  give  with  my  poor  daugh- 
ter ?    I  have  nothing  : 

The  very  air,  bounteous  to 
every  man, 

Is  scant  to  me,  sir. 


Chris.  I  do  think,  good  father, 

You  are  but  poor. 
Jaq.     He  thinks  so  ;  hark!  but 

thinks  so. 


He  thinks  not  so,  he  knows  of 

all  my  treasure. 

[Aside  and  exit. 
Chris.    Poor  man,  he  is    so 

overjoy'd  to  hear 


Id  inhiat,  ea  affinitatem  hanc 
6bstiuauit  gratia. 

11.  266,  267. 

EVC.   {aside).    Tarn  hie  scit 
me  habere  quam  £gomet. 

1.  548. 


EVC.     Meam  pauperiem  c6n- 

queror. 
Virginem  habeo  grdndem,  dote 

cassam  atque  inlocabilem, 
Neque  earn  queo  locare  quoi- 

quam.  11. 190-192. 

EVC.     At  nil  est  dotis  quod 

dem.  1.  238. 

EVC.    Cur  igitur  p6scis  meam 

gnatam  tibi  ?  1.  224. 

EVC.     E6  dico,  ne  me"  then- 

sauros  repperisse  cdnseas. 

1.  240. 
STR.       Quin  quom  it  domi- 

tum,   follem    obstringit    6b 

gulam. 
ANTH.     Cur?    STR.  Nequid 

animae    f6rte    amittat  dor- 
miens.  11.  302,  303. 
MEG.     N6ui :  ne  doce&s. 

1.  241. 
MEG.     Cdrte  edepol  equidem 

te  ciuetn  sine  mala    omni 

malitia 
Samper  sum  arbitratus  et  nunc 

drbitror.  11.  215,  216. 

(This  may  have  suggested 
to  ^orison  Jaques'  speech.) 


MEG. 
homo  ? 


sed  ubi  hi[n]c  £st 


On  the  Comedies  of  Ben  Jonson.       105 


His  daughter  may  be  past  his 

hopes  bestow' d. 
That  betwixt  fear  and  hope, 

if  I  mean  simply, 
He  is  thus  passionate. 


Re-enter  /agues.] 

Jag.     Yet  all  is  safe  within. 

Chris.     What  say  you,  father, 
shall  I  have  your  daughter  ? 

Jag.     I  have  no  dowry  to  be- 
stow upon  her. 


Chris.      I    do    expect    none, 

father. 
Jag.    That  is  well. 

Jag.  So  !  he  is  gone  ;  would 
all  were  dead  and  gone, 

That  I  might  live  with  my 
dear  gold  alone  ! 

Enter  Count  Ferenze.~\ 

Count  F.     Here  is  the  poor 

old  man. 
Jag.    Out  o'  my  soul,  another ! 

comes  he  hither  ? 
Count  F.     Be  not  dismay' d, 

old  man,  I  come  to  cheer 

you. 

Jag.    To  me,  by  heaven  ! 


Abiit  neque  me  c£rtiorem  fdcit: 

11.  244,  245. 

...    si  opulentus  it  petitum 

pauperioris  gratiam, 
Pauper  metuit  c6ngredi  <ri> . 
p£r  meturu  male  rem  gerit. 
11.  247,  248. 

Re-enter  Euclio  ^\ 

EVC.     .  .  .  salua  re<s>est : 

1.  207. 

MEG.      Quid    nunc?    etiam 
mihi  despondes  filiam  ? 

1.  255- 

EVC.     At  nil  est  d6tis  quod 

dem.  1.  238. 

EVC.  Illis  legibus, 

Cum  ilia  dote  quam  tibi  dixi. 
11.  255,  256. 


MEG.     Ne"  duas. 


EVC.     Fiat. 


1.  238. 
1.  241. 


EVC.  Illic  hinc  abiit.  di  im- 
mortales,  obsecro,  aurum 
quid  ualet.  1.  265. 


MEG.  N6[ui]stin  hunc  sen- 
em  Euclionem  ex  prdxumo 
pauperculum?  1.  171. 

MEG.     Tace :    bonum    habe 
animum,  Euclio  : 
.  .  .  adiuuabere  a  me . 

11.  192,  193. 

EVC.       Maue,     mane:    quis 


io6 


The  Influence  of  Plautus 


One  comes  to  hold  me  talk, 

while  t'  other  robs  me. 

[Aside  and  exit. 
Count  F.     He  has  forgot  me, 

sure ;     what     should     this 

mean  ? 
He   fears   authority,    and   my 

want  of  wife 
Will  take  his  daughter  from 

him  to  defame  her  : 
He  that  has  nought  on  earth 

but  one  poor  daughter, 
May  take  this  extasy  of  care 

to  keep  her. 

A.  Ill,  s.  i. 


illic    £st?     quis    hie    intus 

alter  erat  tecum  simul  ? 
Perii  hercle  :   ille  nunc  intus 

turbat.  11.  655,  656. 

See  above,  11.  244, 245,  where 
the  situation  and  thought  are 
similar. 


See  above,  11.  204-206. 


The  remainder  of  this  scene  is  not  found  in  the 
Plautine  comedy.  The  next  scene  begins  with  the 
soliloquy  of  Jaques,  and  his  removal  of  the  gold  to  a 
new  hiding-place.     Mr.  von  Reinhardstoettner  says  : 

"  Jaques  vergrabt  sein  Gold  im  Diinger.  Gifford 
in  der  ihm  eigenen  Verherrlichung  Ben  Jonsons  meint 
(vi,  372)  :  '  This  is  from  Plautus,  where  Kuclio  also 
removes  his  gold  to  a  new  hiding-place.  The  speeches 
of  the  two  misers,  however,  have  no  circumstance  in 
common  ;  nor  has  the  Latin  poet  anything  that  can  be 
set  in  comparison  with  this  admirable  and  characteristic 
soliloquy  of  Jaques.'  Diesem  Urteil  kann  gewiss  nie- 
mand  beipflichten.  Die  halbphilosophischen  Refiex- 
ionen  Jaques',  gegeniiber  dem  einfachen  Euklio,  der 
sein  Geld  der  Fides  anvertraut,  sind  wenig  wirkungs- 
voll."  x 

When  Gifford  said  the  two  speeches  have  "  no 
circumstance  in  common, ' '  he  could  not  have  borne  in 


1  Reinhardstoettner,  Karl  von,  Plautus,  1886,  pp.  348,  349. 


On  the  Comedies  of  Ben  Jonson.      107 


mind  the  following  parallel  passages  found  elsewhere 
in  the  Plautine  play,  which  Jonson  has  cleverly  woven 
into  Jaques'  soliloquy  : 


Jaq.    He  's  gone  :  I  knew  it ; 
this  is  our  hot  lover. 

I  will  believe  them,  I !  they 
may  come  in 

Like  simple  wooers,  and  be 

arrant  thieves, 
And  I  not  know  them  ! 

A.  Ill,  s.  2. 


EVC.     Illic  hinc  abiit.  di  im- 

mort<al>es,  f&cinusaudax 

incipit 
Qui    cum    opulento    pauper 

homine  fcoepit  rem  habere 

aut  neg6tium, 
Velut<i>  Megadorus  temptat 

me  omnibus  miserum  mo- 

dis : 
Qui  simulauit  m£i  |  honoris 

mittere  hue  causa  coquos  : 
Is  ea  causa  misit  hoc  qui  siib- 

riperent  misero  mihi. 

11.  460-464. 


It  must  be  admitted,  also,  that  there  is  a  sugges- 
tion in  the  fact  that  Jaques  conceals  his  gold  in  the 
ground,  covering  it  with  dung,  just  as  Euclio  had  con- 
cealed his  gold  before  its  removal  to  the  temple.  There 
can  be  no  question  but  that  Jonson  depended  on  Plautus 
for  this  suggestion. 

We  next  meet  with  Jaques  in  his  encounter  with 
Juniper.  Mr.  von  Reinhardstoettner  says  :  ' '  Uber 
seinem  Gelde  entdecken  Juniper  und  Onion  den  Alten 
und  holen  sich  nach  seiner  Entfernung  den  Schatz."  ' 

"This,  too,  is  from  the  A  uhdaria,  where  Strobilus 
gets  up  into  a  tree  to  watch  Euclio.  The  motive,  how- 
ever, is  different.  In  Plautus  the  discovery  of  the 
treasure  is  the  prime  object,  in  Jonson' s  comedy  it  is 
merely  incidental,  and  forms  no  necessary  part  of  the 
plot.     Rachel   might  have  obtained  a  husband,   had 

1  Reinhardstoettner,  Karl  von,  Plautus,  1886,  p.  350. 


io8 


The  Influence  of  Plautus 


Jaques  been  as  poor  as  every  one  thought  him  ; 
whereas  the  Lar  kindly  informs  us  in  the  prologue  that 
the  treasure  was  expressly  bestowed  on  Euclio,  that  he 
might  be  enabled  to  give  a  marriage  portion  with  his 
daughter  to  a  youth  of  quality,  who,  as  the  stage  cus- 
tom was,  earn  compresserat.,y  1 

"  Die  weiteren  Szenen  bei  Jaques  sind  wieder  der 
Aulularia  entnommen,  insgesamt  dem  Inhalte,  oftauch 
dem  Wortlaute  nach  :  so  z.  B.  : 

'Jag.     Shew  me  thy  hands,  what  hast  thou  in  thy  hands  ? 
Jun.     Here  be  my  hands.'  "  2 

Whalley  says  :  "  This  scene  is  an  imitation  of  that 
in  which  Strobilus  is  examined  by  the  miser.  But  its 
pleasantries  are  within  the  bounds  of  nature  ;  and 
severer  judgment  instructed  Jonson  not  to  outrage  his 
characters,  as  Plautus  did  before  him.  Jaques  examines 
both  the  hands  of  Juniper,  but  he  does  not,  like  Euclio, 
bid  him  produce  his  third  hand.  .  .  .  No  degree 
of  avarice  could  lead  one  to  suppose  that  a  man  has 
three  hands.  ' '  3 


Jag.    .    .    .    Rachel !  thieves ! 

thieves ! 
Stay,  villain,  slave  !       [Seises 
Tun.  as  he  is 
running  out. 

Jun.    I  pray  you,  sir. 

Jun.     For  God's  sake  hear  me 
speak,  keep  up  your  cur. 

A.  IV.  s.  4. 


EVC.     Redi,  qu6  fugis  nunc  ? 
tene,  tene.  1.  415. 


Similarity  in  Supplement  of 
old  editions. 

{Ditto.) 


1  Ed.  Gifford,  Ben  Jonson,  VI,  389. 

s  Reinhardstoettner,  Karl  von,  Plautus,  1886,  p.  349. 

3  Ed.  Gifford,  Ben  Jonson,  VI,  390. 


On  the  Comedies  of  Ben  Jonson.       109 


There  is  also  similarity  in  the  following  lines  : 


Jaq.     Well   then   deliver  ; 

come,  deliver,  slave. 
Jun.     What  should  I  deliver  ? 

Jaq.     O    thou  wouldst   have 
me  tell  thee,  wouldst  thou  ? 


Shew    me    thy    hands,   what 

hast  thou  in  thy  hands  ? 
Jun.     Here  be  my  hands. 


Jaq.  .  .  .  Put  off  thy  shoes  ; 
come,  I  will  see  them  ;  give 
me  a  knife  here,  Rachel,  I  '11 
rip  the  soles. 


Jun.  What,  are  you  mad,  are 
you  detestable  ?  would  you 
make  an  anatomy  of  me  ? 

Jaq.  Soft,  sir,  you  are  not 
yet  gone  ;  shake  your  legs, 
come ;  and  your  arms,  be 
brief : — 

Taq.  Heart,  thou  art  some- 
what eased,  half  of  my  fear 

Hath  ta' en  bis  leave  of  me.  .  . 

.  .  .  Friend,  why  art  not 
gone? 


EVC.     Redde  hue  sis.     1.  634. 

STR.     Quid  tibi  uis  redd&m  ? 

1.  634. 

EVC.     Rog[it]as?  1.  634. 

STRO.  Quid  ergo  ponam? 
quin  tu  eloquere  [EVC] 
quidquid  est  suo  n6mine. 

1.  639. 

EVC.     Ostende  hue  manus. 

1.  640. 

STR.  Em  tibi,  ostendi:  6c- 
cas.  EVC.  Video,  age  6s- 
tendeetiamt6rtiam.     1.  641. 

EVC.  Age-dum,  excutedum 
pallium.  1.  646. 

EVC.  Ne  inter  tunicas  ha- 
beas. 1.  647. 
An  opposite   stand   is   now 

taken  by  Strobilus,  who  says  : 

STR.  Tuo  drbitratu.  1. 647. 
Tempta  qua  lubet.      1.  647. 

STR.  Insanis :  perscrutatus 
es.  1.  653. 


EVC.        age  rusum  |  ostende 
hue  manum 
D£xt<e>ram.    11.  649,  650. 


EVC.  P6stremo  hunc  iam 
p£rscrutaui  :  nil  habet.  abi 
qu6  lubet.  1.  657. 

EVC.  Ibo  intro  atque  illi 
socienno  tu6  iam  inter- 
stringam  gulam. 


I  IO 


The  Influence  of  Plautus 


Fugin  hinc  ab  oculis?    abin 
[hinc]  an  non  ?    11.  659, 660. 


Avoid,   my    soul's    vexation  ! 

Satan,  hence  ! 
Why  dost  thou  stare  on  me? 

why  dost  thou  stay, 

Hence  from  my  house. 

"  Im  fiinften  Akte  trifft  frohe  Nachricht  ein.  Paolo 
kehrt  zuriick.  Zugleich  aber  entdeckt  Jaques  den 
Diebstahl. 

'  Thou  hast  made  away  my  child,  thou  hast  my  gold  : 
O  what  hyena  call'd  me  out  of  doors? 
The  thief  is  gone,  my  gold  's  gone,  Rachel  's  gone,' 

und  spater  dann  : 

*  My  gold,  my  gold,  my  wife,  my  soul,  my  heaven  ! 
What  is  become  of  thee  ? ' 

"  Das  Ganze  endet  natiirlich  zu  allgemeiner  Zu- 
friedenheit,  wobei  das  Wort  The  Case  is  Altered  eine 
grosse  Rolle  spielt.  Der  gefesselte  Camillo  erweist  sich 
als  des  Grafen  sohn  durch  ein  Medaillon  (a  tablet)  mit 
einem  '  silver  globe '  und  der  Inschrift  In  minimo 
mundus.  Jaques  bekebrt  sich  zu  dem  Grundsatze 
'  Ill-gotten  goods  ne'er  thrive.'  Er  hiess  Melun,  und 
Rachel  ist  Isabel,  Chamonts  Sch wester.  Paolo  erhalt 
Rachels  Hand,  Chatnont  die  Aurelias,  der  Tochter  des 
Grafen  Ferneze.  Richtig  ist,  dass  Ben  Jonson  die 
Figur  der  Rachel  neu  geschaffen  hat  ;  doch  wird  der 
Schurke  Jaques  allzu  glimpflich  behandelt,  da  der 
Graf  die  beiden  Rauber,  Juniper  und  Onion,  strenge 
bestrafen  lasst  : 

'  Keep  the  knaves  sure,  strict  inquisition 
Shall  presently  be  made  for  Jaques'  gold, 
To  be  disposed  at  pleasure  of  Chatnont, ' 


On  the  Comedies  of  Ben  Jonson.       in 

wahrend  Chamont  gnadig  zu  Jaques  sagt  : 

'  Melun,  I  pardon  thee  ;  and  for  the  treasure, 
Recover  it,  and  hold  it  as  thine  own.'  "  ' 

It  is  quite  likely  that  Jonson  was  indebted  to  the  sup- 
plement (as  the  closing  scenes  of  the  Aulularia  had 
been  lost  during  the  Middle  Ages),  for  the  delivery  of 
the  gold  to  Chamont,  although  in  Jonson's  comedy  the 
gold  is  finally  restored  to  Jaques.  The  sudden  change 
in  Jaques'  character,  as,  also,  in  the  character  of  Euclio 
(in  the  supplement  to  the  Aulularia),  has  met  with 
considerable  criticism.  But  this  is  a  charge  which  can- 
not be  attributed  to  Plautus. 

Ben  Jonson  had  also  in  mind  the  Aulularia  when  he 
wrote  The  Devil  is  an  Ass.*  We  must  remember  that 
the  Aulularia  was  performed  at  Cambridge  in  the  year 
1564,  and  was  a  much  talked  of  play  in  Jonson's  boy- 
hood. Whalley  commends  the  copy  highly,  and  appa- 
rently would  sacrifice  the  original  to  it,  and  we  concede 
that  Jonson's  comedy  is  much  the  richer  in  circum- 
stance. 

L,ike  all  of  his  works,  The  Silent  Woman  illustrates 
the  constructive  ability  of  the  author,  rather  than  the 
laws  of  artistic  growth  from  within.  We  cannot  watch 
it  expanding  like  a  comedy  of  Aristophanes.  We  can 
see  how  it  has  been  put  together,  and  yet  the  struc- 
ture is  so  artistic,  that  the  connection  of  each  part 
seems  inevitable.  The  unities  are  strictly,  yet  natu- 
rally preserved,  and  the  skill  with  which  the  characters 
are  introduced  has  deservedly  won  highest  praise  from 
Dryden.     It  does  not,  like  Volpone,  expose  a  ruling 

1  Reinhardstoettner,  Karl  von,  Plautus,  1886,  pp.  350,  351. 

2  Ibid.,^.  348,  Note  1.  Cf.  Ed.  Gifford,  Ben  Jonson,  V,  50  u., 
hier  S. 


ii2  The  Influence  of  Plautus 

vice — perhaps  beyond  the  comic  poet's  lawful  scope  ' — 
but  it  exhibits  a  ludicrous  personal  peculiarity  in  the 
main  actor.  We  are  permitted  to  enter  a  sphere  of 
comical  foibles  and  mirth-provoking  eccentricities  of 
humor. 

On  Morose's  horror  of  noise  each  succeeding  incident 
hinges,  and  it  forms  the  motive  for  the  various  humors 
of  the  minor  characters.  The  Silent  Woman  is  rather 
a  Titanic  farce  than  a  true  comedy.  Dryden  claims 
that  Jonson  studied  the  fantastic  character  of  Morose 
from  a  real  person,  although  Gifford  has  traced  it  to  a 
passage  in  Libanius.  Mr.  von  Reinhardstoettner  says  : 
' '  Rapp  vermutet,  dass  auch  in  seiner  Epicoe?ie,  or  The 
Silent  Woman  (gespielt  1609),  wo  gleichfalls  ein  Knabe 
(irtixoivrj)  als  Braut  vermahlt  wird,  der  gelehrte  Ben 
Jonson  vielleicht  an  des  Plautus  Casina  gedacht  habe. 
Es  soil  nich  widersprochen  werden.  Die  umfassende 
Kenntnis  des  Altertums,  welche  Ben  Jonson  an  den 
Tag  legt,  mag  bewusst  und  unbewusst  seine  Schopf- 
ungen  beeinfiusst  haben.  Gerade  dieses  Stuck  ist  reich 
an  Imitationen  der  Alten,  speziell  des  Plautus  und 
Terenz,  worauf  Upton  und  Gifford  hinweisen.  Und 
so  mag  allerdings  Sir  Dauphine  Eugenies  Eist :  '  You 
have  married  a  boy,  a  gentleman's  son,  that  I  have 
brought  up  this  half  year  at  my  great  charges  and  for 
this  composition,  which  I  have  now  made  with  you, ' 
eingegeben  sein  von  Plautus 2  : 

'  Mise"rrumum  hodie  ego  hunc  habebo  amasium.'  "        1.  590. 

The  Silent  Woman  calls  only  for  interior  scenes,3  and 

1  Symonds,  J.  A.,  Shakespeare's  Predecessors,  English 
Worthies.     Ben  Jonson,  1884,  p.  87. 

2  Reinhardstoettner,  Karl  von,  Plautus,  1886,  p.  390. 

3  Harvard  Graduate  Monthly,  Vol.  Ill,  p.  493. 


On  the  Comedies  of  Ben  Jonson.       113 

the  problem  is  how  to  secure  a  noiseless  wife.1  It  is 
not  in  the  plot,  as  a  whole,  nor  in  the  underplot,  that 
we  find  parallel  passages  to  the  Plautine  plays,  but  in 
isolated  episodes,  single  ideas,  etc.  The  following  from 
the  An.  11.  173,  174, 

MEG.  uerba  ne  facias,  soror. 

Scio  quid  dictura's  :  hanc  esse  pauperem  :  haec  pauper  placet, 

is  thus  imitated  by  Jonson  : 

Mor.  ...  I  know  what  thou  wouldst  say,  she  's  poor, 
and  her  friends  deceased.  She  has  brought  a  wealthy  dowry  in 
her  silence.  A.  II,  s.  3. 

Again  : 

<MA.>    Viden  tu  illi<c>  ocul6s  uirere?  ut  uiridis  exoritur 
colos 
Ex  temporibus  atque  fronte  :  ut  6culi  scintillant  uide. 

Mn.,  11.  828,  829. 

Epi.  Lord,  how  idly  he  talks,  and  how  his  eyes  sparkle  !  he 
looks  green  about  the  temples  !  do  you  see  what  blue  spots  he 
has  !  A.  IV,  s.  2. 

Epicoene  feigns  that  Morose  is  afflicted  with  madness, 
while  the  wife  of  Menaechmus  and  her  father  really  be- 
lieve that  the  latter  is  insane.  Although  the  thought 
and  spirit  are  the  same  in  this  scene  in  both  plays,  the 
language  is,  on  the  whole,  different.  Whatever  may 
be  affirmed  of  the  influence  of  the  Casina  upon  The 
Silent  Woman,  little  direct  influence,  if  any,  can  be 
pointed  out ;  although  there  is  a  subtle  and  general 
idea  of  kinship,  or  sensation  of  similarity,  impressed 
upon  one  as  the  two  plays  are  read  together. 

1  Symonds,  J.  A.,  Shakespeare's  Predecessors,  English 
Worthies.     Ben  Jonson,  1884,  p.  87. 


ii4 


The  Influence  of  Plautus 


x 


The  episode  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Otter,  one  of  the  low 
comedy  scenes,  broad  and  farcical  in  every  way,  is  very 
similar  to  the  closing  scene  in  the  Asinaria.  And  here 
we  noteJthe_general  iinloyeliness  o£  the  feniale^charac- 
ter,  as~presented  by  both  authors. 

In  The  Fox  we  find  just  such  an  idea  of  hearing  an 
ill  report  of  one's  self  while  lying  concealed,  as  we 
find  in  the  Asinaria  and  The  Silent  Woman : 


PA.     Manedum.    ART.  Quid 
est  ?  1.  877. 

PA.  Emtibihominem.    ART. 
Perii.   PA.  Paulisper  mane  : 

Aucupemus  £x  insidiis  clan- 
culum  quam  rem  gerant. 

As.,  11.  880,  881. 


Mos.  .  .  .  This  very  minute, 
It  is  or  will  be  doing  ;  and,  if 

you 
Shall    be  but  pleased  to  go 

with  me,  I  '11  bring  you, 
I  dare  not  say  where  you  shall 

see,  but  where 
Your  ear  shall  be  a  witness  of 

the  deed  ; 
Hear  yourself  written  bastard, 

and  profest 
The    common   issue    of    the 

earth.  A.  Ill,  s.  1. 


The  argument  adduced  by  True-wit  against  matri- 
mony and  wives  in  general,  in  A.  II,  s.  1,  is 
simply  a  copy  of  the  speech  which  Megaronides  utters 
against  doweried  wives,  in  the  Azdularia  of  Plautus,  11. 
475-536,  and  the  similar  objections  of  Periplecomenus 
in  the  Miles  Gloriosus,  11.  680-700.  Again  the  argu- 
ments presented  by  Morose  to  the  Mute,  that  he  may 
induce  her  to  regard  the  position  which  he  holds  out  to 
her  as  his  wife  with  favor,  are  very  close  translations 
from  the  comedies  just  mentioned. 

A  few  remarks  may  be  added  with  respect  to  The 
Fox,  and  The  Devil  is  an  Ass.  The  former  is  an  excel- 
lent play,  regarded  with  The  Alchemist  as  the  best  of 


On  the  Comedies  of  Ben  Jonson.       115 

the  Jonsonian  comedies.  The  division  of  the  charac-i 
ters,  sharply  drawn,  into  two  broad  classes  of  the  dupers\ 
and  the^duped,  and  the  introduction  of  the  parasite,)  w 
Mosca — the  veritable  parasite  of  the  old  L,atin  comedy 
—  as  the  pivot  on  which  the  play  turns,  are  purely 
Plautine  characteristics.  Mosca' s  ingenious  brain  con- 
trives and  carries  into  effect  the  various  intrigues  for 
working  on  the  gullibility  of  the  creatures  who  are  to 
be  defrauded. 

Generally  in  Jonson' s  plays  there  is  one  clever 
knave  who  attends  to  the  execution  of  the  intricacies 
of  thevplot.  In  The  Silent  Woman,  it  is  Cutbeard  ;  it 
is  Chamont  and  Juniper  in  The  Case  is  Altered ;  while 
in  Every  Man  in  His  Humour  it  is  Brainworm ;  and  in 
Volpone,  The  Fox,  it  is  Mosca.  They_are  the  old  slayes  $-•  /^~" 
of  the  Plautme_comejdies,  and  Jonson  himself  says  :  \"" 

"  I  have  only  made  it  a 
little  easy,  and  modern  for  the  times,  sir,  that  is  all."  ] 

As  Plautus  painted  his  characters  with  broad  strokes 
after  a  stock-model,  and  always  with  a  view  to  the  dra- 
matic effect,  so  Jonson  not  infrequently  does  likewise. 
Although  in  Cynthia's  Revels  he  says  : 

"  In  this  alone,  his  Muse  her  sweetness  hath, 
She  shuns  the  print  of  any  beaten  path  ; 
And  proves  new  ways  to  come  to  learned  ears  : 
Pied  ignorance  she  neither  loves  nor  fears." 

Prologue. 

Bobadill,  the  braggart-captain  ;   Kitely,  the  jealoug 
husband;  Old  Knowell,  the  gulled  father;  Wellbredi 
the  chum  to  Young  Knowell,  the  profligate  son ;  and7" 
Brainworm,  the  cunning  servant,  with  Mosca,  the  in-)     f~- — 
genious  parasite  and  slave, —  form  a  group  in  modern!     \  " 

'Jonson,  Ben,  Bartholomew  Fair,  A.  V,  s.  3. 


n6 


The  Influence  of  Plautus 


comedj'  whose  originals  are  traceable,  through  the 
Plautine  plays,  to  the  stock  characters  of  The  New 
Attic  Comedy. 

The  evidence  of  direct  influence  will  be  concluded 
with  a  comparison  between  an  episode  from  the  Aulu- 
laria  and  one  from  The  Devil  is  an  Ass,  which  is 
especially  interesting. 


Fitz.    You  hear,  Devil, 

Lock  the  street-doors  fast,  and 
let  no  one  in, 

Except  they  be  this  gentle- 
man's followers, 

To  trouble  me. 

Nor  turn  the  key  to  any  neigh- 
bour's need  ; 
Be  it  but  to  kindle  fire,  or  beg 

a  little, 
Put  it  out  rather,  all  out  to  an 

ash, 
That  they  may  see  no  smoke. 

Or  water,  spill  it ; 
Knock  on  the    empty    tubs, 

that  by  the  sound, 
They  may   be    forbid    entry. 

Say  we  are  robb'd, 
If  any  come  to  borrow  a  spoon 

or  so  ; 
I  will  not  have  Good  Fortune 

or  God's  Blessing 
Let  in,  while  I  am  busy. 

A.  II,  s.  I. 


EVC.     Abi  intro,  occlude  ian- 
uam  :  iam  ego  hie  ero. 

Caue  qu£mquam  alienum   in 
a£dis  iutromiseris. 

Au.,  11.  89,  90. 


EVC.     Quod  quispiam  ignem 

quadrat,  extingui  uolo, 
Ne  causae   quid   sit   qu6d   te 

quisquam  qua£ritet. 
Nam  si  ignis  uiuet,  tu  £xtin- 

guere  extemp<u>lo. 
Turn  aquam  aufugisse  dicito, 

siquis  petet. 
Cultrum,    securim,  pistillum, 

mortarium, 
Quae    utenda     uasa    semper 

uicini  rogant, 
Fur£s  uenisse  atque  abstulisse 

dicito. 
Prof^cto    in    aedis  meas    me 

absente  n£minem 
Volo  intromitti.   atque  £tiam 

hoc  praedic6  tibi, 
Si  Bbna  Fortuna  ueniat,    ne 

intromiseris. 

Au.,  11.  91-100. 


The  prevalent  impression — partly  traditional,  partly 
acquired  from  reading  the  plays  of  Jonson  and  any  one 


On  the  Comedies  of  Ben  Jonson.       117 

or  two  of  the  Plautine  comedies  —  that  the  later  writer 
was  indebted  to  the  earlier,  can  be  satisfactorily  verified 
only  by  such  a  comparison  of  the  passages  most  similar 
in  verbal  phrasing,  as  has  here  been  attempted.  Even 
when  the  words  do  not  correspond,  the  spirit  or  idea  is 
frequently  noted,  and  the  influence  cannot  be  contro- 
verted. 

The  question  which  naturally  presents  itself  on  read- 
ing the  play  is  perhaps  unanswerable  except  from  in- 
ference. Did  Jonson,  consciously  or  unconsciously, 
have  in  mind  these  passages  of  the  Plautine  plays 
when  writing  his  comedies  ?  That  there  is  a  general 
resemblance  has  not  failed  to  present  itself  to  the  mind 
of  the  most  casual  reader.  And  the  particular  passages 
noted  could  not  possibly  have  been  the  result  of  acci- 
dent such  as  might  arise  from  treating  two  subjects  not 
wholly  dissimilar.  The  references  of  contemporaneous 
writers,  which  may  be  relied  upon  as  authoritative,  are 
few  in  number  and  exceedingly  meagre.  We  are 
forced  to  trust  to  our  judgment,  and  to  rely  upon  our 
individual  and  generally  strong  impression  as  to  the 
extent  of  this  similarity.  That  Jonson,  by  nature  and 
education,  was  led  to  adopt  the  classical  side  of  art,  and 
to  choose  the  ancients  for  his  models,  although  firmly 
established,  is,  after  all,  merely  incidental  to  the  object 
in  hand,  z".  <?.,  the  giving  of  such  proof  of  the  direct 
influence  of  his  study  of  the  Plautine  comedies  as  may 
be  found  in  his  works. 

It  is  natural  to  suppose  that  Jonson,  in  searching  for 
a  model,  would  select  the  one  who  had  the  greatest 
reputation  among  the  ancients,  and  consequently  the 
one  who  exerted  the  greatest  influence  on  posterity, 
both  in  early  times  and  in  Jonson' s  own  age.  It  has 
been  shown  that  Plautus  not  only  had  great  reputation 


n8  The  Influence  of  Plautus 

in  early  times,  but  that  he  was  the  most  popular  of  the 
ancient  poets  in  the  days  of  Shakespeare  and  Jonson. 

If  we  take  this  in  connection  with  those  authoritative 
references  which  we  have,  we  find  ample  justification 
for  attempting  a  consistent  comparison  of  those  passages 
most  similar  in  phrasing,  in  spirit  and  general  idea,  and 
for  the  collection  of  material  to  the  end  that  it  may 
serve  as  a  basis  for  future  investigation.  The  extent 
of  the  influence  must  remain  largely,  nevertheless,  a 
matter  of  individual  opinion. 

In  this  comparison  we  find  that,  while  following  the 
development  of  idea  as  presented  by  Plautus,  Jonson 
has  frequently  combined,  repeated  or  introduced  the 
thought  in  such  a  manner  as  to  show  the  greatest  skill 
in  the  treatment  of  his  material.  Indeed,  he  had  too 
high  an  opinion  of  Horace,  to  disregard  the  advice  of 
this  eminent  critic  against  an  "  over-anxiety  to  be 
literal,  or  a  binding  of  one's  self  too  strictly  to  the  plan 
and  character  of  the  original."  '  "  Jonson,"  as  Drum- 
mond  informs  us,  "  entertained  particular  notions  in 
regard  to  poetical  translations,  which  led  him  to  under- 
rate some  of  those  that  still  continue  to  be  justly  ad- 
mired." 2  And  yet  Jonson  does  not  wholly  conceal, 
and  apparently  he  has  no  definite  intention  of  conceal- 
ing, the  source  of  his  comedy. 

In  conclusion,  we  revert  to  the  thought  expressed  so 
aptly  by  Mr.  Henry  Giles  :  "  Humor  is  the  soul  of 
comedy;  but  humor,  however  genuine  in  essence,  is  in 
its  manifestation  extremely  dependent  on  the  day — on 
its  manners,  mode  and  fashion.  Men  who  once  had 
the  power  to  set  all  Europe  laughing  can  hardly  now 

1  Horace,  Epistula  ad  Pisones,  11.  133-135. 

2  Drummond,  Wm.,  Notes  on  Ben  Jonson's  Conversations 
with  Wm.  Drummond.     Shakespeare  Soc.,  Jan.,  1842,  p.  2. 


On  the  Comedies  of  Ben  Jonson.       119 

create  a  smile."  l  Jonson  beyond  a  doubt,  as  Mr.  Swin- 
burne says,  was  a  ' '  better  antiquarian  than  a  drama- 
tist, ' '  '  yet  he  excelled  in  the  quality  of  humor.  And 
the  very  severity  of  his  turn  of  mind  aided  him  in 
seizing  with  the  greatest  precision  the  weaknesses  of 
men,  and  in  picturing  them  with  a  living  likeness  that 
is  irresistible. 

That  he  was  recognized  as  a  power  in  literature,  we 
have  abundant  proof.  The  enthusiastic  elegies  of 
authors,  which  were  published  after  his  death,  evidence 
the  fact  that  he  was  a  celebrity,  and  an  honored 
author  in  his  own  day.  His  devotion  to  his  ideas 
of  art  was  exclusive,  and  he  openly  proclaimed  him- 
self a  reformer.  "  No  sooner,"  says  Drake,  "  had 
he  ventured  on  the  stage  with  a  comedy  exclusively 
his  own,  than  he  aspired  to  the  establishment  of  a 
Dramatic  Literature  in  this  province,  which,  while  he 
should  adhere  to  the  structure  of  the  classical  model, 
might  exhibit  various  and  extensive  views  of  human 
nature,  and  uniformly  have  for  its  object  the  correction 
of  vice  and  folly,  through  the  medium  of  unsparing 
satire."  3 

The  new  style  proposed  by  him  did  not  immediately 
gain  favor.  Popularity  came  to  him  gradually,  and 
principally  through  his  recognition  by  the  great  patrons 
of  literature  and  of  the  stage.4  But  he  arose  to  be 
the  literary  dictator  and  the  leader  of  jovial  society 
in  London,  where  he  ruled  the  undisputed  favorite 

1  Giles,  Henry,  Human  Life  in  Shakespeare,  1887. 

s  Swinburne,  Algernon  Charles,  A  Study  of  Ben  Jonson,  1889. 

3  Drake,  Nathan,  Shakespeare  and  His  Times,  1817,  Vol.  2, 

P-  572. 

4  Memoirs  of  Ben  Jonson,  British  Poets,  Shakespeare  and 
Ben  Jonson.     (Riverside  Ed.) 


120  The  Influence  of  Plautus 

of  the  wits.  "  Those  who  deny  to  Ben  wit,  genius, 
and  taste,"  says  Gilchrist,  "  will  not  object  to  him 
want  of  learning,  art,  and  judgment."  '  And  "if  in 
searching  for  accuracy,  he  lost  his  grasp  of  reality," 
it  is  for  this  reason,  as  Dr.  Schelling  says,  "  he  is  the 
best  constructor  of  plot  in  our  literature."  s  Jonson 
possessed  two  of  the  three  elements  constituting  a  good 
poet 3 — industry  and  judgment  —  and  if  he  was  not  a 
genius,  genius  was  not  wholly  lacking. 

He  numbered  among  his  friends  the  leading  literary 
men  of  the  day,  and  he  was  a  welcome  member  of  the 
most  polished  circles  of  society.  Jonson' s  own  opinion 
of  popularity  we  find  in  Cynthia? s  Revels  : 

Are.  True  happiness 

Consists  not  in  the  multitude  of  friends, 

But  in  the  worth  and  choice.     Nor  would  I  have 

Virtue  a  popular  regard  pursue  : 

Let  them  be  good  that  love  me,  though  but  few.4 

How  is  it  that  Jonson  in  our  time,  like  Plautus,  has 
lost  the  place  which  he  once  held  in  the  public  estima- 
tion? It  is  that  Jonson  put  into  his  dramas,  just  as 
Plautus  did,  the  manners  of  his  age.  L,ike  Plautus,  he 
is  one  of  the  best,  nay,  the  completest  authority,  we 
have  for  ascertaining  the  manners  of  the  age  in  which 
he  lived.  He  was  a  comic  satirist,  who  attempted  to 
strip  the  ragged  follies  of  his  time  as  naked  as  they 
were  at  their  births,  to  show  the  time's  deformity. 

1  Gilchrist,  Octavius.  An  examination  of  the  charges  main- 
tained by  Messrs.  Malone,  Chalmers,  and  others  of  Ben  Jon- 
son's  enmity,  etc.,  toward  Shakespeare,  p.  29. 

2  Schelling,  Felix  F,.,  Ph.D.,  Ben  Jonson  and  the  Classical 
School. 

3  Horace,  Epistula  ad  Pisones. 

4  Jonson,  Ben,  Cynthia's  Revels,  A.  Ill,  s.  2. 


On  the  Comedies  of  Ben  Jonson.       12  r 

What  is  characteristic  of  a  particular  period  is  not 
likely  to  give  satisfaction  in  all  ages,  and  he  thereby 
fails  to  fulfill  the  highest  conditions  of  art.  Jonson 's 
dramas  have  in  them  an  excess  of  the  individuality  of 
their  author,  and  he  has  suffered  the  fate  of  all  those 
who  have  lashed  successfully  public  follies — and  who 
have,  in  a  measure,  with  the  follies  they  have  destroyed, 
destroyed  themselves. 


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